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How to Play Golf 



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HOW TO PLAY GOLF 



BY 



Ch 



H. J. WHIGHAM 



^*'^*'^*' 



HERBERT S. STONE & COMPANY 

CHICAGO AND NEW YORK 

MDCCCXCVII 



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T^<.-^^^ 







■lam t^m?' 



, VV3 7 



COPYRIGHT, 1897, BY 
HERBERT S. STONE & CO. 



2993 



To 
CHARLES BLAIR MACDONALD 

Who has done more than any one else 
to promote the best interests of golf 
in America, this volume is dedicated. 



The author begs to acknowledge his in- 
debtedness to Mr. E. Burton Holmes for 
the use of the chronomatographe pictures 
illustrating this volume. 



Contents 



PAGE 

Advice to Beginners . o c 3 

The Long Game . . c . 41 

Iron Play . , , „ c 87 

Putting ...,<,. 129 

Miscellaneous Suggestions . 151 

Training and Tournament Play 171 

The Making of a New Course . 187 

Development of the Game in 

AlNIERICA 219 

Aiviateurs Abroad .... 243 

Rules 273 

Etiquette of Golf . . . 309 



CHAPTER I. 

ADVICE TO BEGINNERS. 

THE term beg-inner, as applied to the 
g-ame of g'olf, covers a multitude of 
varying- aims and aspirations ; and since ad- 
vice is surely wasted upon those who either 
do not need it or have no desire for it, we 
may, for economical purposes, classify be- 
g-inners under three heads, and state di- 
rectly the particular kind of novice to whom 
the following- sug-g-estions are offered. The 
first class, then, is composed of boys under 
the ag-e of discretion, who learn g-ames by a 
natural process of imitation and assimila- 
tion; in the second are found all those of 
dyspeptic habits who have been ordered by 
their physicians to take a round of g'olf, 
either as a tonic or a counter-irritant; the 
third, and by far the larg-est, class includes 
men and women of all ag-es and tempera- 
ments, who by accident or intention, have 
taken an interest in the g-ame sufficient to 
inspire them with a desire for improve- 
ment, and yet find a difficulty in acquiring- 
any accuracy of form or execution on ac- 
count of the lack of practical information 
upon the subject. 



4 Professional Teaching. 

The Dangers ^^ i^ ^^ ^^^^ ^^^^ ^^^ most sym- 

of Professional pathetic class that I d esire chief- 
Teaching, ly to address a few remarks, 
with just a word of explanation in advance. 
Many may object to the presumption that 
information really is lacking*. There are 
standard works upon the science of g'olf, 
and every links in America, or indeed in 
any other well reg'ulated community, is 
provided with a first-class professional 
direct from the royal and ancient home of 
the g*ame in Scotland. And yet the Bad- 
minton book in its g-eneral tone is, like all 
scientific works, more an aid to experts 
than a consolation to beginners who have 
been led astray in their youth by devotion 
to baseball or cricket. As for the profes- 
sional, the disadvantages under which he 
imparts his instruction must be taken into 
consideration before his advice can be 
accepted with absolute faith. 

Generally speaking*, he is young*, and 
without experience in the matter of teach- 
ing. He is ignorant of the ways of the 
people he has to deal with, and having hd 
respect for any game but his own, he is un- 
able to distinguish between errors which 
come from innate viciousness and those 
v/hich have been induced by familiarity with 
the bat or the racket. Lastly, he can seldom 



Choosing Weapons. 5 

account for his own proficiency. Golf with 
him is more a second nature than an accom- 
plishment; he succeeds in his art not of 
malice prepense, as Aristotle would say, 
but simply because he cannot help it; and 
the fact that he is a g'ood player is no crite- 
rion whatever of his ability as an instructor 
of others. 

Of course there are many professionals 
who are excellent teachers. But I have 
seen so many novices, both in America and 
Eng-land, who, in spite of professional coach- 
ing- — -or because of it — are attempting- to play 
g-olf in a manner that never can be anything- 
but a source of g-rief to themselves and pity 
in their friends, that I have determined to 
lay down a few simple maxims which are 
not based upon any dog-ma or theory, but 
upon actual observation. 

The Choice of Let us beg-in at the very be- 
Weapoas. g-inning*, then, and having- taken 
it for g-ranted that the tyro really wishes to 
play g'olf, and not some other inferior g-ame, 
let us put him in the rig-ht direction at the 
start. 

He must not, in the first place, buy a 
complete set of clubs, because he cannot 
possibly expect to play with more than 
three of them under two months' time, and 
the rest will only distract his attention. 



6 Score Counting must be Avoided. 

Score Count= Secondly, he will be wise to 
ing must be keep off the regular course as 
Avoided. long* as possible, for as soon as he 

plays eig'hteen holeshe will beg'in tocount his 
score and trouble the handicapper. This 
is the most prevalent disease among- young* 
g*olf ers, and one that will check his prog*ress 
more than anything* else. I may be par- 
doned, therefore, for dwelling* a moment 
tipon the subject. The averag*e beg*inner 
finds it very difficult to understand why he 
should be warned ag^ainst this score count- 
ing* habit, arg*uing-, with some show of plaus- 
ibility, that the lowering* of one's record is 
a strong* incentive toward improvement in 
the g*ame. He forg*ets, however, that apart 
from the fact that his endeavors to g*et be- 
low the hundred will make him unfit for 
human companionship, the mere anxiety to 
succeed in a nominal and numerical way 
must have a bad effect upon his style. He 
will adopt any and every method whereby 
he may the more readily reach the hole; 
some friend will g*ive him a piece of advice 
which will make him more accurate for the 
time being*, but will sacrifice for him all 
hopes of ever hitting the ball in the right 
way; so that, finally, by the time he has 
surprised himself by going the whole round 
of eighteen holes in ninety-nine strokes, 



Use a Wooden Club. 7 

without a sing-le effort of the imag-ination, 
and has won several useless and inartistic 
cups, he will find that he has forfeited all 
possibility of becoming- a first-class player. 

It would be a g-ood rule, then, for every 
beg*inner to refuse absolutely to count his 
score until he has played six months; and 
above all let him remember that it is better 
to miss the ball fifty times in succession in 
the rig-ht way than to hit it once by some 
inauthentic trick. 

Use a Wooden It will be best for our novice 
Club. to retire with his caddy or his 

adviser to some remote locality with plenty 
of old balls and only one club. That club 
must be of the wooden variety. The shaft 
should be strong-, but not too clumsy, with 
just a little spring- at the lower end. The 
head should be a bulg-er. 

It is a mystery to me why every beg-in- 
ner is taug-ht to play with an old-fashioned, 
long--headed driver. It would be just as 
sensible to offer a young- tennis player one 
of the old lob-sided rackets to learn the 
g-ame with. The bulg-er is not only the 
best kind of head for experts, but it was 
especially invented to obviate the faults 
w^hich are most inherent in young- players. 
The compact form of the head makes accu- 
rate hitting- far more easy, and the bulg-e is 



8 The Position of the Hands. 

intended to counteract all tendencies to slice 
and pull. 

The ang-le of the head with the shaft 
should not be too obtuse. Tastes vary, of 
course, on that point, but the g-eneral fault 
in wooden clubs is that they err in not be- 
ing- sufficiently upright. 

The Position The club having- been selected, 
of the Hands, attention should be g-iven to the 
grip. There are only two possible positions 
for the hands in driving-, and they are shown 
on the opposite pag-e. The position of the 
left hand is the same in both cases. The 
shaft of the club must be g-ripped firmly in 
the palm in such a way that when the ball 
is addressed, the fing-ers, with the except 
tion of the third joint of the first fing-er and 
the second joint of the thumb, are invisible. 
There is no other way of holding- the club 
in the left hand. And yet I have seen num- 
bers of beg-inners who have been coached 
for weeks, holding- the left hand underneath 
the club to such an extent that the first and 
second joints of the fing-ers are plainly vis- 
ible above the shaft. The most casual trial 
will prove that the latter method is quite 
incompatible with an easy swing-. 

With reg-ard to the rig-ht hand, there are 
two opinions among* the experts. Gener- 
ally speaking-, the best players hold the club 



POSITION OF THE HANDS 




WITH THE CLUB IN THE FINGERS OF THE RIGHT HAND 



lo The Position of the Hands. 

lightly, but not loosely, in the fingers of the 
rig-ht hand in such a manner that the thumb 
lies across the upper surface of the shaft, 
with the first joints of the fingers barely 
visible. This has always been the accepted 
book form, and the beginner will probably 
find it wise to adopt it, unless the second 
way is distinctly easier for him. 

In the second illustration it will be ob- 
served that the club is grasped firmly in 
the palm of the right hand, and the hand is 
held under the shaft, so that the second 
joints of the fingers are clearly visible 
above it. 

Although I should favor the first posi- 
tion, there can be no doubt that the second 
way has been made enormously effective in 
the hands of many of the best players, both 
professional and amateur. It is a marked 
peculiarity of the St. Andrews players, who 
probably learned it from the Kirkcaldy 
brothers; but it is certainly not confined to 
St. Andrews. Mr. John Ball, Jr., to men- 
tion no others, holds the club tightly in the 
palm of the right hand ; and if the poll could 
be taken, it would be very hard to say upon 
which side the majority of first-class golf- 
ers would be found. Two of the finest 
drivers in Scotland, Mr. Edward Blackwell 
and Mr. F. G. Tait, certainly incline to the 



POSITION OF THE HANDS 




WITH THE CLUB IN THE PALM OF THE RIGHT HAND 
11 



12 The Stance. 

second method, and yet the first is invari- 
ably recommended in books. 

The books and the professional advisers 
can hardly do otherwise, how^ever, because 
one of their first maxims is that the club 
must be held loosely in the rig-ht hand. 
Now, it is plain it cannot be held very 
loosely in the second way. The fact is, that 
the old maxim, which is thrown at the head 
of every beginner, is responsible for an 
untold multitude of misfortunes. I would 
rather say, hold firmly with both hands and 
choose whichever method pleases you best, 
only remembering- this, that the first admits 
of an easier and rather more graceful swing, 
while the second enables the player to em- 
ploy the whole force of the right forearm — 
and that is the secret of most long driving. 
At present, however, we have nothing to do 
with long driving. We shall be very well 
content if the ball is struck clean, irrespect- 
ive of the distance. 

The Stance. Let the novice grasp his club 
in one of the manners described, and stand 
square to the ball, not stooping too much, 
nor yet uncompromisingly rigid. 

The books tell him that he may stand, as 
regards the ball, in one of two ways, basing 
their arguments upon the best form. But 
driving from the left leg has gone out so 



THE STANCE 




POSITION IN DRIVING 
13 



14 The Stance. 

much in the last few years that the open 
style may be reg-arded as the only one which 
it is worth while to teach beginners. 

He must take his position, then, with the 
ball placed rather more toward his left than 
his rig-ht leg-, and at such a distance that he 
can place the head of the club comfortably 
behind it without stooping- or stretching- out 
the arms, and leaving- as obtuse an ang-le as 
possible between the arms and the shaft of 
the club. 

The feet should be from two to two and 
a half feet apart, according- to height, and 
the rig-ht if anything- advanced a trifle in 
front of the left. 

This style has g-enerally been referred 
to as driving- off the rig-ht leg-, as opposed 
to the method of driving- from the left leg-, 
already mentioned. But that is in reality 
an abuse of lang-uag-e. 

When the rig-ht leg- is advanced so far 
that the weig-ht of the body rests almost 
entirely upon it, the expression is perfectly 
correct; but that is not what is at present 
intended. The beg-inner must accustom 
himself to stand fairly erect, with the weig-ht 
of the body equally distributed between 
each leg-; he will then drive not from one or 
the other, but from both, and that is the 
only correct method. 



The Swing. 15 

In swinging* back he will let the weight 
fall naturally upon the right foot until the 
top of the swing is reached. In coming 
forward again, the weight will follow the 
club, and when the drive is finished it will 
rest almost entirely upon the left foot. 

But this must be done unconsciously. 
As soon as the beginner allows himself to 
think about changing his center of gravity 
his swing is sure to get out of gear. It will 
be quite sufficient, then, if he will stand cor- 
rectly in the first place, and swing as I shall 
instruct him. 

The Swing. Here is the crucial point. He 
will probably be persuaded to imitate the 
long swing of his professional adviser. If 
he does so, he is almost certainly lost. 
There are exceptions even to this rule, but 
generally speaking, no man or woman whose 
muscles have become set, should ever at- 
tempt a full swing until it comes of its own 
accord. 

Begin wdth what your professional calls 
a half shot. That is to say, let the arms go 
back just as far as possible without making 
a break in the motion. The club must 
swing backward and forward as smoothly 
as the pendulum of a clock. The left wrist 
and elbow should be kept almost in a 
straight line, and only the right wrist and 



i6 The Swing. 

elbow should be bent as the club moves 
backward. Practice this stroke until you 
can hit the ball accurately, and you will be 
astonished how far it will g^o with only a 
very small expenditure of force. 

Your young* golfer, however, is a very 
ambitious individual, and he will not be con- 
tent to foreg'O his cherished St. Andrews 
swing- unless he is g-iven g-ood reasons. He 
will g-enerally arg-ue that form must be 
acquired at any cost, and confront me with 
my own statement that it is better to miss 
the ball in the rig-ht way than to hit it in 
the wrong-. First, then, let me ask him 
whether it is not far better to achieve a 
half swing- than no swing- at all. 

He must remember that driving- is en- 
tirely a matter of swing-. As soon as he 
beg-ins to hit at the ball he is hopelessly 
ruined. He must at all costs learn to sweep 
the ball away as if it were an object of no 
weight at all. Consequently, if he can learn 
a true half swing-, he is at least on the road 
to grace; whereas the contortions which 
he g-oes throug-h in acquiring- what he im- 
ag-ines to be the proper St. Andrews style 
do not constitute a swing- at all, and he 
will probably spend months and months 
attempting- to sandpaper it down into some- 
thing- like a regular sweep. In the mean- 



The Swing. 17 

time his less ambitious brother in golf will 
have outstripped him with ease; not, be it 
understood, in the matter of score — for 
that is of no importance — but in the effect- 
iveness of his play and the evenness of his 
swing". 

Of course it is not intended that the late 
beginner should not in time develop a real 
St. Andrews swing. The only question is, 
How^ can he do it most easily? When he has 
played long enough and watched the mo- 
tions of all the first-class golfers he may 
come across, he will gradually find his swing 
lengthening out without any conscious ef- 
fort on his own part and without any break 
in the motion. 

A golfing swing is rather like the human 
voice. There is a definite break which years 
of practice only can smooth away. In train- 
ing the voice the teacher develops both the 
lower and the upper register, and in so 
doing works one into the other so as to con- 
ceal the break. The teacher in golf — at 
least, where he has to deal with adult pupils 
— should adopt just the contrary method. 
He should develop the lower register only, 
and go on extending it until it gradually 
glides into the upper register without en- 
countering the break at all. 

That is the theoretical reason for en- 



1 8 The Swing. 

couraging- the half swing*. Fortunately, in 
this case the practice bears out the theory. 

At the present moment three of the best 
American players, according- to public form, 
are A. H. Fenn, A. Tyng and H. Harriman. 
There are several younger players who are 
quite as good now, and probably will very 
soon pass the older contingent in the race. 
But these college boys, like Betts, Reid, 
Terry, Walter Smith, Ba}^ard and many 
others, hardly enter into the present dis- 
cussion. They have learned the game early 
enough in life to imitate the regular pro- 
fessional swing without danger. 

Of the older golfers, however, Fenn and 
Tyng have certainly earned the right to be 
considered in the front rank, and Harriman 
I class with them, not because his record is 
so extensive, nor because he happened to 
defeat Tyng in playing for the amateur 
championship, but because his style strikes 
me as being the best exposition of the 
method which ought to be followed by adult 
beginners. 

Turn to the photographs of these play- 
ers, and you will observe that not one of them 
has a full swing, Fenn and Tyng being 
most remarkable in this respect. But you 
will also see that in each case the stroke is 
followed through to the finish. Thus the 



The Swing. 19 

head of the club is kept traveling- as long as 
possible in the line of the ball's flight. 

Another point will strike you if you look 
carefully at the different illustrations: You 
will see that in Harriman's case the hands 
go back very nearly as far as in the pictures 
of the Scotch players. And yet the casual 
observer would never suspect Harrimanof 
having- a full swing; which goes to prove 
that the eye is often deceived, and that what 
looks like a very long swing is in reality not 
so very much longer than the stroke which 
I recommend to the beginner. 

The argument, moreover, does not apply 
to American players alone. In the first 
rank of English and Scotch golfers it would 
be hard to find a single expert who did not 
learn the game as a boy. But among those 
who began later in life, the best are cer- 
tainly those who use little more than a half 
swing. Two good instances come readily 
to mind: Mr. Oswald, who was last year 
captain of the St. Andrews golf club, is one 
of the steadiest players on any links. He 
is not absolutely first-class, but there are 
very few players who can give him odds 
with safety; yet in driving, his hands 
hardly reach the level of his shoulder. Mr. 
Walter De Zoete is another and even more 
extraordinary case in point. He plays with 



20 The Finish of the Stroke. 

an easy half swing", and he has passed the 
ag*e when men expect to be pre-eminent in 
sports; yet there is hardly a g-olfer, young- 
or old, who can beat him over his native 
heath at North Berwick in Scotland. 
The Finish of I hope, then, that the advan- 
the Stroke. tag-es of the short swing- for 
those who begin golf comparatively late in 
life, are by this time sufficiently apparent. 
Having* adopted this method, the beginner 
must remember that the finish of the stroke 
is at least as important as the beg-inning-. 
It is absolutely necessary that he should 
keep the head of the club traveling- in the 
line of the ball's flight as long as possible, 
and this can only be done by letting- the 
weig-ht of the body follow the stroke until it 
rests entirely on the left leg-. The rig-ht 
shoulder must also come forward, and the 
tendency to draw back both the shoulders 
and the arms after the ball has been struck 
must be overcome at any price. Examine 
the different positions at the end of the 
stroke, and you will see that there is more 
of the swing- after the ball is hit than be- 
fore; the practical explanation of which is 
that in order to secure a g-ood finish the 
club must be traveling- very fast when it 
reaches the ball. If, on the other hand, the 
stroke is ended as soon as the ball is struck 



Summary. 2 1 

the swing- must be gradually becoming 
slower before the club reaches the ball, and 
the drive is robbed of most of its force. 

In actual practice you will find that as 
the club goes back the heel of the left foot 
is torn, as it were, from the ground. Simi- 
larly, when the stroke is finished, if the 
weight is carried through correctly, the 
right heel is sure to rise. But in both cases 
the action must be unconscious. Do not 
pay any attention to a professional adviser 
who tells you to turn your heel. There is 
absolutely no virtue in the motion unless it 
is spontaneous. Practice your swing* con- 
stantly and the rest will come in due time. 
Summary. To put it shortly and nega- 

tively, then: 

Don't beg-in by counting- your score. 

Don't use an iron club, nor an old fash- 
ioned wooden one. 

Don't hold loosely with your right hand. 

Don't raise either heel from the g-round 
until it comes naturally. 

Don't, above all, as you value your g'olf- 
ing future, adopt a full St. Andrews swing. 

So much in the way of suggestion to the 
real beg-inner. In the next chapter I shall 
address a few remarks to those who have 
advanced far enough to play a definite kind 
of game, whether good, bad or indifferent. 



Driving — American Style 

Mr. W. R. Betts 

Mr. a. H. Fenn 

Mr. J. A. Tyng 

Mr. H. M. Harriman 



23 



MR. W. R. BETTS 

YALE GOLF CLUB 

I. Al the Top of the Swing 
II. Coming Through 
III. The Finish 



24 



II 




26 



Ill 




87 



MR. A. H. FENN 

PALMETTO GOLF CLUB 

I. A I the Top of the Swing 
II. Coming Through 
III. The Finish 




29 



II 




30 



Ill 




31 



MR. J. A. TYNG 

MORRIS COUNTY GOLF CLUB 

I. At the Top of the Szviiig 
11. Coining Thj^oiigli 
III. The Finish 



32 




33 



II 




34 



Ill 




35 



MR. H. M. HARRIMAN 

KNOLLWOOD GOLF CLUB 

I. A I the Top of the Swing 
II and III. Coming Through 
IV. The Finish 



36 




37 



II 




38 



Ill 




IV 




40 



CHAPTER 11. 

THE LONG GAME. 

THE young- g-olf er who has learned with 
some difficulty to play a moderately 
steady game is certain to experience re- 
lapses from time to time, and it is the 
object of the present chapter to point out 
the most fruitful sources of error in driv- 
ing- from the tee and throug-h the g-reen. 
Faults to be When he is alternately hitting- 
Avoided. his ball on the top, and striking- 

the g-round several inches behind it, he will 
probably be told that he is pressing- or tak- 
ing- his eye off the ball. But neither of 
these reasons is sufficient to explain con- 
sistent bad play. 

The most frequent fault which assails 
all g-olfers, both g-ood and bad, consists in 
standing* too much in front of the ball. 
That is to say, the ball is placed opposite 
the rig-ht foot, instead of being- very nearly 
opposite the left. The consequence is that 
the club comes down upon the top of the 
ball or behind it, as the case may be, instead 
of meeting- it just as the head is on the rise. 
The effect on the swing* itself is extremely 
detrimental, for not only does the player 
strike the ball at the wrong* point of the 

41 



42 . Faults to be Avoided. 

circle, but he beg'ins to chop down upon it 
instead of sweeping- it away. Whenever, 
therefore, you find yourself hitting* your 
ball on the top or else g-etting* it very hig-h 
in the air, examine carefully your position, 
and you will g-enerally find that your ball is 
too near your rig-ht foot. 

Another fault which manifests itself in 
various ways consists in falling- back at the 
end of the stroke. The arms and shoulders, 
instead of following* the line of the ball's 
flight, are drawn quickly round to the left, 
and the consequence is a terrific pull; or 
else the ball is struck on the toe of the club 
and flies off to the rig-ht. The effect in 
both cases is disastrous, and the two shots 
are so entirely unlike that the novice does 
not recog-nize the fact that both are caused 
by the same error in style. Very often, 
too, the driving* is loose and fails in the 
matter of distance because the player is not 
standing* up squarely to the ball. His hands 
are g-etting* too low, the ang-le between the 
arms and the shaft is too pronounced, and 
the sole of the club is not placed evenly on 
the g-round when the ball is addressed. 
Very often, too, the club is being* held too 
loosely, the thumbs are straying- down the 
shaft instead of across it, and the club is 
allowed to turn as it strikes the ball. 



Faults to be Avoided. 43 

All these errors, however slig-ht, will 
have a bad effect upon the flig-ht of the ball. 
So that g-enerally speaking-, when a player is 
driving- poorly, he oug-ht to brace himself 
up, take a firmer grip of his club, stand 
more erect, and be sure that he is soling- 
the head of his club squarely behind the 
ball, so that both toe and heel are on the 
g-round, and the surface of the face makes a 
rig-ht ang-le with the surface of the earth. 
In attempting- this cure, he may perhaps g-o 
to the other extreme and become almost 
rig-id. But that is the better fault of the 
two. It is only when a man is at the very 
top of his game, when eye and hand are 
in exact accord, that he can with safety 
loosen every muscle in his body in order to 
g-et every ounce of weig-ht into the swing*. 
When a player g-ets to this state he is a long- 
way beyond advice. He can hold his club 
with the very lig-htest g'rip, he can swing- 
rapidly and with all his mig-ht, and it does 
not matter very much whether he looks at 
the ball or not. 

This is a state of thing's, however, which 
rarely comes to any one except the first- 
class player. The averag-e g-olfer must be 
content for the most part to purchase accu- 
racy at the expense of a little flexibility. 

After all, driving is mainly a matter of 



44 The Refinements of Driving. 

following- the stroke through with the arms 
and shoulders, and for that reason the half 
swing- should be continually practiced, be- 
cause there a man is bound to follow throug-h 
in order to g-et any distance at all; so that 
when you are driving- short or slicing- badly, 
g-o back to a half swing- for an hour or two 
and learn to get the arms and shoulders 
well away after the ball. 

The Refioe= The rules for driving- off the 

ments of fee and brassey play are rather 
Driving. similar to the rules for the 

fourth hand at whist. All you have g-ot to 
do is to hit the ball. But there are a few 
refinements v/hich may be brought into 
play with a little practice. 
Allowing for A great many golfers who 
Wind. have risen well into the second 

rank, find that their game deteriorates tre- 
mendously in a high wind. Even the best 
players are often disturbed by the ele- 
ments, and it seems to me that their diffi- 
culty arises from a very simple and very 
common fault. 

In golf, as in archery, the man who 
stands most firmly on his feet will always, 
other things being equal, beat his opponents 
on a stormy day. It is obvious, therefore, 
that the higher the wind the more easily 
must the player swing his club, otherwise 



Allowing for Wind. 45 

he is bound to lose his balance. Yet the 
constant tendency is to use an extra effort, 
especially in playing* against the wind. 
Remember, then, the swing* must be par- 
ticularly easy, and special attention must 
be g*iven to the follow throug-h — your object 
being to hit the ball absolutely clean. On a 
calm day a ball may be sliced or pulled or 
hit high in the air, without great loss of dis- 
tance. On a windy day, the slightest inac- 
curacy is ten times exaggerated, and the 
man who is accustomed to drive with a cut 
will find himself hopelessly out of the run- 
ning. Consequently, your first care on a 
windy day must be to swing absolutely 
true, and this is impossible if any attempt 
is made to force the stroke. 

Secondly, do not try to drive a low ball 
against the wind. It is no uncommon thing 
to hear even a first-class player excusing 
himself for a very bad shot, by explaining 
that he was trying to half-top the ball, so 
as to keep it near the ground in its flight. 
He ought to know" that, wind or no wind, a 
ball that is half-topped will not fly so far as 
one that is clean hit. Moreover, in placing 
your ball in such a position as to hit it half on 
the top, you are almost certainly interfering 
with your swing, and the result may either 
be a ball that runs along the ground into the 



46 Driving with a Cross Wind. 

nearest bunker, or one that spouts into the 
air and is instantly checked by the wind. 

Remember that a really clean-hit ball 
from a low tee never flies very hig-h, and 
the cleaner it is struck the better will it 
keep its course, even in the teeth of a g-ale. 

In driving* ag*ainst the wind, therefore, 
it is sufficient to bear in mind that you must 
swdng- easily and in your natural way. Any 
extra effort of any sort will assuredly prove 
disastrous. 

Similarly, with a strong- wind behind 
you, do not try to drive an abnormally long- 
ball. If you do, you will probably lose your 
balance and fail to hit the ball clean, in 
which case all the advantag-e of the wind is 
lost. 

Driving with a A wind that blows across the 
Cross Wind. course is rather more difficult 
to deal with. Under such circumstances a 
ball that is driven absolutely straight will 
suif er a certain hindrance. You may, how- 
ever, make such a use of the wind that it 
actually helps rather than impedes your 
stroke. Technically speaking*, you can play 
for a pull with the wind blowing* from rig-ht 
to left, and play for a slice with the wind 
blowing- from left to rig-ht. 

These terms are a little misleading-,, be- 
cause in reality you must pull or slice, as 



Driving with a Cross Wind, 47 

the case may be, only to a fraction of a hair's 
breadth. It is easy enough to pull your 
ball badly. You need only stand in front 
of it, aim well to the right, and the pull will 
come. But then you will find that your ball 
travels no farther than if you had hit it 
straight down the course. The proper 
method is far more artistic. You must aim 
very slightly to the right, place your ball a 
very little farther back than usual, grip 
your club firmly in both hands, and then 
hit your ball straight and clean, without 
thinking of the pull at all. As soon as you 
begin to think about it, you will draw your 
arms and shoulders round to the left at the 
end of the swing, and the result will be a 
very bad pull indeed. All you have got to 
do is to hit the ball true and follow the 
stroke through to the finish, and the wind 
will do the rest. 

When the wind is in the other direction, 
you must be particularly careful not to slice, 
because however much you may allow for 
it, a slice is almost sure to land you in 
trouble. And yet it is very hard to avoid 
slicing with a v/ind blowing over your left 
shoulder, because in aiming well to the left 
you forget to change the position of the ball 
in addressing it; consequently it is too far 
back, and a true swing is impossible. 



48 On Long Driving. 

Remember, then, in playing* for a slice 
you must endeavor before all things not to 
slice at all. Aim to the left and keep the 
ball well in front of you when you address 
it — that is to say, almost opposite to your 
left foot. 

On Long Long- driving* has so many fas- 
Driving, cinations, especially for the beg"in- 
ner, that any discovery of a royal road 
toward acquiring* the habit would be ex- 
ceeding*ly welcome. Unfortunately there is 
no possibility of any such discovery. Long- 
driving* is simply another expression for 
clean hitting*. No man who does not swing* 
true will ever be a long* driver. He may 
occasionally by some accident g*et the whole 
weig*ht of his body into the stroke and hit 
the ball a very great distance, but that will 
not constitute him a long driver. It is the 
average that tells, and not the one good 
drive out of ten when the others are all 
bad. And a true swing can only be ac- 
quired by steady practice. At first per- 
haps only the arms can be brought into 
play. But by degrees the shoulders and 
the hips will become more supple. Ex- 
amine the accompanying illustrations care- 
fully, and you will see that at the top of the 
swing every ounce in the body almost rests 
on the right leg. As the club comes down, 



On Long Driving. 49 

the balance is restored and the weight is 
almost evenly distributed as the ball is 
struck; but it is moving forward all the 
time until at the finish of the stroke it rests 
entirely on the left leg-. And yet, although 
the weig-ht changes, the body does not 
appear to alter its position to any great ex- 
tent; the shoulders revolve upon an almost 
immovable axis. There must be no for- 
ward movement of the whole person as 
there is in baseball or cricket. The weight 
certainly moves, and that is where the 
strength of the stroke comes from, but it 
must be transferred almost invisibly, and 
the momentum must be applied to the ball 
chiefly through the medium of the right 
shoulder and forearm. 

Now, all this may sound very vague, but 
if you study the illustrations you will under- 
stand partly what is meant, and if you will 
go out and watch a good driver at work you 
will understand a g-reat deal better. In 
fact, if you want to succeed in the game you 
should never miss an opportunity of seeing* 
a really first-class player exercising his 
art; it will do you far more g-ood than a 
thousand verbal lessons. 

And then, when you have learned to use 
your shoulders in the right way, and find 
that you are really getting the weig-ht of 



50 Brassey Play. 

your body into the stroke, you may be able 
to employ your wrists. There is a certain 
snap of the wrists which cannot possibly be 
described, but which nevertheless is the 
secret of all very long- driving-. In order to 
bring- it into use, it is necessary that the 
muscles of the arm should not be taut; and 
that is equivalent to saying that the player 
must be at the very top of his g-ame. Con- 
sequently for all practical purposes the 
wrists may be forgotten in driving-. When 
the time comes to use them, the player will 
be beyond the reach of advice. 
Brassey Play. The term brassey play is g-ener-- 
ally applied to all the strokes made through 
the g-reen with a wooden club. And yet the 
less the brassey is used the better it will be, 
both for the green and the player. Courses 
are, or should be, kept in such good condi- 
tion, at the present time, that a driver may 
be used in nearly every case. But many 
players employ a brassey simply from 
habit, or because they desire to save a 
favorite club. A moment's consideration 
will suffice to show that the brass on the 
sole of the club is a certain handicap be- 
cause it alters the balance. Why not em- 
ploy the old fashioned spoon? In fact, why 
not duplicate your driver almost exactly, 
simply shortening the shaft to some slight 



I 



Brassey Play. 51 

extent, and perhaps laying- back the face a 
very little? It stands to reason that a man 
can play more accurately with one club than 
two, and where he has to employ two, they 
should be as nearly alike as possible. 

Of course, on roug-h g-round, where the 
lies are hard and cuppy, the brassey is 
almost a necessity, for no other club will 
stand the wear and tear. But for a good 
green it seems more reasonable to employ 
either a driver or club very similar in 
weight and lie, the only difference being in 
the shaft, which for playing through the 
green should be rather shorter and less 
supple. 

Beyond this there is very little to say 
about brassey play which has not already 
been pointed out in discussing the drive 
from the tee. Only one rule should be in- 
sisted upon: the worse the lie, the more 
easy should the swing be; and particularly 
so in playing a hanging ball. 

In the latter case, remember to sole the 
club squarely on the ground, and not with 
its face upward. In other words, play the 
ball as if it were not hanging at all, and the 
natural curve of flight will raise it suffi- 
ciently for all practical purposes. Occa- 
sionally, when the ball is hanging and there 
is a steep face immediately in front, it may 



52 Brassey Play. 

be necessary to aim to the left, hit the ball 
rather on the heel, and allow for the curve. 
But this is rather a desperate method. In 
such cases it is generally better to discard 
the wooden club and use an iron. 



Driving — Scotch Style 

Mr. H. J. Whigham 
Mk. C. B. Macdonald 
Mr. F. S. Douglas 



53 



MR. H. J. WHIGHAM 

ONWBNTSIA CLUB 



54 




55 




56 




57 




58 




59 




60 




ai 




63 




64 




66 




67 



MR. C. B. MACD(3NALD 

CHICAGO GOLF CLUB 



71 




73 




n 




76 




77 




78 




79 




80 




8i 



MR. F. S. DOUGLAS 

FAIRFIELD COUNTY GOLF CLUB 



82 




83 



»iri::#ip«i»pi»liiiiiii 



^^irmmr- £^^m;Mm^: ^^^ 




84 



CHAPTER III. 

IRON PLAY. 

THE approach shot in all its various 
forms is the most difficult and the 
most important part of the game of golf, and 
yet it is the stroke which the beginner, as 
a rule, practices least and attempts most 
erroneously. 

There are two reasons for his short- 
comings in this respect. In the first place, 
he starts at the wrong end. Instead of 
learning to play a very short approach to 
begin with, and then going on to extend the 
capacity of his half stroke, he regards any 
kind of iron shot as a modification of a full 
drive, and so attempts to play up to the 
hole with a flabby and half-hearted full 
swing ; whereas, if he did but know it, he 
could cover the same distance far more 
easily with a third of the exertion and with 
far greater accuracy. 

In the second place, the tendency to 
enter handicap competitions at an early 
stage of his career has the effect of crip- 
pling his stroke even more in the approach 
than in the drive. He is determined to get 
to the green somehow or other, and so he 

87 



88 - The Choice of Club. 

g*enerally purchases an abomination of mod- 
ern golf, known as a lofter, with which he 
certainly avoids bunkers, but only at the 
expense of correct style and future pros- 
pects. 

Two thing's, then, must be borne in 
mind in the beginning*: The shorter your 
swing, the greater your accuracy; and sec- 
ondly, the less your club is lofted the stead- 
ier your game will be. The reason for the 
latter proposition is very obvious. With a 
club that is excessively laid back, the 
slightest error in hitting the ball, either too 
high or too low, will make an enormous 
difference in the distance. With a club 
that is not laid back so far, the ball may be 
hit high or low, and travel almost the same 
distance in either case. It is true that most 
good players use the mashie to a large ex- 
tent, but you will generally find that the 
mashie which is used by a good approacher 
is a very different weapon from the shovel- 
faced lofter which is generally put in the 
hands of a novice. 

And even the mashie may well 
be discarded until the use oi the 
light iron has been thoroughly acquired. 
It is hardly necessary to state that it is ad- 
visable, as far as possible, to employ only 
one club for all the approach shots within a 



The Choice of Club. 89 

hundred yards of the hole. Occasionally a 
steep bunker has to be neg-otiated when the 
hole lies only a few yards beyond it, and 
then a mashie is practically a necessity un- 
less you have acquired the art of putting- a 
strong- back spin upon the ball. But shots 
of that nature need not trouble the begin- 
ner very seriously. He may be well con- 
tented if he can learn in the space of a few 
months to play a good straightforward ap- 
proach where he can drop his ball twenty 
yards short of the hole and let it roll the 
rest of the way. 

Let him take, then, what is known as a 
light or medium iron, a club which is quite 
suf&ciently laid back for all practical pur- 
poses, and leaving the mashie severely 
alone, let him devote himself for an hour or 
so each day to playing the approach shot. 
And in order to avoid any tendency to 
force the stroke, let him begin at a dis- 
tance from the hole — say thirty or forty 
yards — which he can cover with a very 
small expenditure of force. 
Position. In playing this stroke, the stand 
should be changed from that required in 
driving. The line of the feet should be at an 
angle of nearly 45° with the line of the ball's 
flight, so that the player may face the hole; 
and the ball should be more nearly opposite 



90 Position and Grip. 

the rig-ht foot than the left. The player 
must be careful, however, to give his arms 
perfectly free play, and on no account must 
the rig-ht elbow^ rest upon the hip. 
The Hands. In gripping" the club the player 
may adopt the same position of the hands 
as in driving-, but it would be better in play- 
ing- so short an approach as this, if he would 
relax the g-rip of the left hand and hold the 
shaft of the club in the fingers instead of 
the palm. But if he does so, he must not 
let the thumbs stray down the shaft of the 
club, nor must he hold the shaft loosely 
with either hand. If he does so, he will 
find that the head of the club is apt to turn 
ever so little as the ball is struck, and the 
result is very disastrous. 

As for the stroke itself, disabuse your 
mind entirely of the idea that you are play- 
ing a wrist shot. There never was a more 
misleading term than that which is invaria- 
bly applied to every shot in golf which does 
not necessitate a full swing. There are 
occasions, of course, where a very delicate 
lofting stroke has to be played, and an ex- 
pert may in such cases play entirely with 
his wrists. But as a general rule, even a 
short approach of thirty-five yards employs 
the forearm, and even to a certain extent 




POSITION OF THE HANDS FOR THE SHORT APPROACH 

91 



9^ Use of the Arms. 

the shoulder. The wrist in reality enters 
very little into the stroke. 

Nothing- can be more important than to 
recog-nize this truth, for the chief difficulty 
which most young* players experience in 
learning- to approach arises from the fact 
that they imag-ine that they must swing- with 
their wrists only, which is in itself a phys- 
ical impossibilit}^ The stroke must, in 
reality, be played with the left arm almost 
straig-ht. As the club g-oes back the rig-ht 
elbow is bent and the rig-ht wrist moves 
perceptibly. The head of the club should 
travel very near the ground, and in a 
straight line backward. In coming- forward 
the left arm is still kept very nearly straig-ht 
(but not rig-id), and after the ball is struck 
the rig-ht arm straightens out to the finish 
until the player is pointing- with arms and 
club stretched out toward the hole. 

Examine very carefully the illustrations 
of the approach shot at forty yards, and you 
will see that, in the first place, the arms are 
free of contact with the body; secondly, the 
wrists chang-e their position very slig-htly 
during- the stroke; thirdly, the arms are 
employed rig-ht up to the shoulder; and 
fourthly, the hands travel a long- way after 
the ball. 



Use of the Arms. 93 

Observe, on the other hand, the wrist 
shot as it is played by nearly every beg-in- 
ner, and you will see that the arms do not 
work freely because they are not supposed 
to enter into the stroke, the wrists are bent 
backward and forward, and the hands are 
held back at the finish instead of being- 
allowed to follow the flig-ht of the ball. It is 
the left arm especially that is cramped by 
this attempt to play with the wrists. Re- 
member, then, particularly to let the left 
arm g-o out after hitting- the ball, otherwise 
the head of the iron is broug-ht round to the 
left instead of following- through. 

If you play the stroke in the proper way 
you will have no difficulty whatever in rais- 
ing* the ball from the g-round. Therefore 
it is quite unnecessary to use a lofter, or 
even a mashie, unless you are compelled, 
on account of the proximity of a bunker, to 
drop the ball very dead. Above all, do not 
lay the face of your iron back in addressing* 
the ball, thinking* thereby to lift it the more 
easily. If you do, you will only succeed in 
hitting* it with the edg*e, and the effect will 
be most unwelcome. Sole your club square- 
ly on the g*round, and the force of impact 
will do the rest, g*ranted that the ball is 
struck in the manner already recommended. 



Approach at Fifty Yards 

I. At the Top of the Swing 
11. Follow Through 
III. The Finish 



94 




9.^ 



II 




96 



Ill 




97 



98 Longer Approaches. 

Longer When you have learned to play 

Approaches, a thirty or forty-yard approach 
with fair accuracy, you may begin to move 
farther away from the hole; but do not 
lengthen your swing more than is abso- 
lutely necessary. When you have once 
begun to hit the ball clean with the arm 
stroke, you will be astonished to find how 
far the ball will travel with a very small ex- 
penditure of force. Circumstances of wind 
and weather will naturally be taken into 
consideration; but generally speaking, when 
you find yourself between seventy and 
eighty yards from the hole you will have to 
alter your grip. Instead of holding the club 
in the fingers of both hands, you will have 
to go back to the original method employed 
in driving. But this will in no way change 
the stroke itself. The only difference be- 
tween playing a forty-yard stroke and one 
of eighty yards, is that the swing is rather 
longer in the latter case. One other point 
may be observed as the approach grows 
longer. So far no mention has been made 
of the weight of the body, because in the 
shorter strokes the body is hardly employed 
at all. Gradually, however, as greater dis- 
tance has to be covered, the weight of the 
body begins to be called into use. There is 
very little difference in the length of the 



The Weight of the Body. 99 

swing, and the position of the feet is only 
slightly modified, the left foot coming for- 
ward a little, and the right moving back. 
But as greater force is required, the body 
has to be employed ; that is to say, the 
weight is thrown first on the right leg as 
club goes back, and then on the left as it 
comes forward. This is the whole secret 
of obtaining distance with the half shot, and 
sincepreciselythesame means are employed 
in driving, the young player ought not by 
this time to find the difficulty insuperable. 

Of course it sounds easy enough until 
an experiment is made, and then the weight 
of the body is found to be very unmanage- 
able. Either there is a tendency to sway 
the whole frame backward and forward, 
which is entirely wrong, because it makes 
accuracy impossible, or else the weight of 
the body is thrown into the forward stroke 
too soon, with the result that the club comes 
down behind the ball, with much detriment 
to the turf. 

You must change your center of gravity 
from right to left in exact accordance with 
the forward movement of the club, so that 
there is no sledge hammering or jerkiness 
in the stroke. And this is the most diffi- 
cult part of the whole matter. In fact, you 
cannot attain the proper rhythmical move- 



loo The Weight of the Body. 

ment if you are conscious that you are 
throwing- your whole weig-ht at the ball. 
There is only one thing- to be done, and that 
is to think more of the finish of the stroke 
than anything- else. Remember that hands, 
arms, shoulders and everything- except the 
toes of your right foot must be sent after 
the ball and continue to point in the direc- 
tion of the hole long- after the ball has left 
the club. If you really succeed in doing- 
this, the weig-ht of the body is naturally 
moved from right to left without your fore- 
knowledg-e. 



Approach at One Hundred Yards 

I. Position 

II. At the Top of the Swing 

III. Coining Down 

IV. Coining Down 
V. Follow Through 

VI. The Finish 




101 



11 



:.. ._ , f^i r4 




103 



Ill 




103 



IV 




104 





105 



VI 




106 



The Three-Quarters Shot. 107 

The Three= This half stroke will take you 

Quarters back to a hundred yards from 

Shot. the hole with ease, and then you 

will find yourself in a dilemma. A full shot 
will take you too far, and a half shot will 
hardly reach the green. The books advise 
you to play what is called the three-quar- 
ters shot. As every one who plays g*olf at 
all knows, this is quite the most dang"erous 
stroke in the g*ame. It is, in fact, the stroke 
which most beg*inners use for every kind of 
approach — that is to say, they take a full 
swing- and spare their strength. 

There is, however, one way of getting* 
out of the difficulty. At a distance of a 
hundred and twenty yards, let us say, you 
find that a full shot with your light iron will 
go rather too far, and the half shot which 
you have been practicing will not go far 
enough. You still may have recourse to 
your driving iron, which with the same half 
shot will send the ball the whole distance 
required, because it is straighter in the face, 
and therefore causes the ball to run farther 
after alighting. But then another obstacle 
may arise: there may be a bunker in front 
of the whole, so that it is impossible to play 
a running shot. In that case play a three- 
quarters shot with your light iron. But 
don't forget that even so, the follow through 



io8 The Three-Quarters Shot. 

is the most important part of the stroke. 
The reason that the three-quarters shot is 
so often a failure is simply this : The player 
beg*ins by taking- a full shot, and tries to 
shorten the distance by checking- his swing- 
at the moment of impact. In other words, 
he does not carry his club throug-h to the 
finish. No stroke of that kind can ever be 
used with safety, although it may occasion- 
ally ''come off," more by luck than g-ood 
guidance. Again, some of the books regard 
as the distinguishing feature of the three- 
quarters shot that the arms and shoulders 
are used as in the drive, but the weight of 
the body is not called into play. Now, this 
I conceive to be entirely misleading. I have 
already pointed out that except in the very 
short approaches the transference of the 
center of gravity from right to left is as 
important as in driving. And no full shot 
can be played with safety, simply by using 
the arms alone. In attempting the three- 
quarters shot you should stand very much 
as you do in driving, except that the right 
foot may be rather more advanced, and the 
ball may be moved a very little farther 
back. The club should then be swung back, 
as in driving, except that the hands should 
not rise above the line of the shoulder; and 
since the object is to loft the ball, the arc 



The Three-Quarters Shot. 109 

described by the head of the club should be 
part of a smaller circle than that described 
by the head of the club in playing- the half 
shot; or, to put it more simply, the head in 
g-oing- back should not travel so close to the 
g-round. 

Then it may be well to pause for the 
fraction of a second at the top of the swing- 
in order to avoid undue haste, to which one 
is particularly liable in this shot. Finally, 
let the follow through be as complete as 
ever, except that the hands and club should 
not travel on quite so low^ a line as in play- 
ing- the half shot. In other words, the arc 
described by the club after the ball is struck 
should correspond to the arc described in 
the backward swing. 



The Three-Quarters Shot 

I. Position 

11. At the Top of the Swing 

III. Follozv Through 

IV. Follow Through 
V. The Finish 



no 




Ill 



II 




112 



Ill 




113 



IV 




U4 




115 



ii6 Back Spin and Cut, 

The Refine= If ^^^ J^ung- player has learned 

ments of Iron to play the half stroke in the 
Play- manner described, and has also 

mastered the three-quarters shot so that 
he is fairly certain of the results, he will 
still find that there are difficulties to be 
overcome. But he need not trouble himself 
very much about them until he has acquired 
accuracy in the straig-htforward part of the 
short g-ame. Not until then should he en- 
deavor to play the hig-h or lofting- stroke or 
strugg-le with the vag*aries of back spin. 
Still, every g-olf er oug-ht to be fully equipped 
in every point, and he oug-ht to know how to 
deal with various courses requiring- various 
styles of play. 

Back Spin and I have hardly seen a course 
the Cut in America where back spin is 

Stroke. ^ positive necessity. On the 

straightforward courses like that of the 
Chicag-o Golf Club it is possible to approach 
almost every hole with an ordinary lig-ht 
iron, because the g-reens are larg-e enoug-h 
and the bunkers at a sufficient distance 
from the hole to permit a considerable run 
after the ball has landed. There are other 
courses where the g-reens are small and ab- 
normally keen, in which case no sleig-ht of 
hand will enable a player to pitch his ball on 
to the g-reen and keep it there. In time, 



The Cut Stroke. 117 

however, seaside courses will be laid out in 
this country, similar to the g-reat links in 
England and Scotland, where the greens 
though large are excessively keen com- 
pared to most of our inland putting greens, 
and where the hole is protected by bunkers 
in such a way that it is absolutely necessary 
to play many of the approach shots with a 
spin in order to stop the ball on the putting 
green. Needless to say, in golf, as in almost 
every other game, no cut should be adminis- 
tered to the ball unless it is unavoidable. 
One's object, generally speaking, is to make 
the ball travel as far as possible, and not to 
check its movements; moreover, a ball that 
is struck clean without any cut will roll 
more truly after landing than a ball which 
is played with a spin or from a very lofted 
club. Nevertheless, the cut stroke in golf 
is just as much part of the game as it is in 
billiards, and for that reason it is a pity 
that it is not oftener called into play by the 
courses which at present exist in America. 
In fact, it is really the mastery of this stroke 
which creates the distinction between the 
really first-class golfer and the average 
scratch man. 

Fortunately it is not hard to explain the 
manner of playing the shot, although it is 



li8 The Cut Stroke. 

exceeding-ly difficult to acquire any degree 
of certainty in playing- it. 

In the ordinary approach shot the player 
is recommended to keep the head of the 
club traveling- in the line of the ball's flig'ht, 
both in the backward and the forward 
swing-. He is also advised to draw the club 
back as near the g-round as possible. 

In playing- the cut stroke he must neg-lect 
both these commandments. The club must 
be drawn across the intended line of flig'ht, 
starting- away from the body and coming 
toward it, as the ball is hit; moreover, the 
hands must be raised in going- back and 
after the ball is struck, so that the swing is 
more vertical than horizontal, to use an un- 
mathematical, but easily comprehensible, 
expression. Strike the ball, if possible, 
nearer the heel than the center of the club, 
and aim slightly to the left of the hole. 
Also, in addressing the ball, face the hole 
more squarely even than in the ordinary 
short approach. Go out and practice this 
stroke, and, after half an hour, you will 
probably despair of ever being able to play 
it successfully. There is nothing that I 
can do for you except to tell you to go on 
practicing. There is no hidden mystery 
in the matter, and no easy method of ac- 
quiring the habit. If you cannot become 



The Cut Stroke. 119 

fairly proficient in the shot, you are not 
skillful enoug-h to reach the summit of am- 
bition, and that is an end of it. Moreover, 
if you are unable to play the stroke with a 
very reasonable degree of certainty, you 
had better discard it altogether and use 
some other means of staying near the hole 
when the green is very fast. You may either 
use a very lofted club — but that, too, is un- 
certain — or you may harden your heart and 
play simply to keep out of difficulties by 
using the ordinary method of approach and 
allowing your ball to run past the hole. If 
there is a bunker on the other side as well, 
you are indeed in a hard position ; but, gen- 
erally speaking, there is some means of 
safety if sufficient ingenuity is brought to 
bear on the situation. 



The Cut Stroke 

I. At the Top of the Swing 

II. At the Top of the Swings Front View 

III. The Finish 



120 




m 



II 




122 



lit 




123 



124 Running Up. 

Running Up. There is another kind of ap- 
proach which is used with great effect on 
g-reens like St. Andrews in Scotland, and 
that is the running--up shot played either 
with the cleek or the wooden putter. This 
method of approaching* the hole is never of 
much service on inland courses, where the 
g-rass is not of a fine enoug-h nature to allow 
the ball to travel smoothly over it for any 
distance. But on seaside courses it is an 
invaluable part of the g*olfer's equipment, 
for it enables him very often to keep his 
ball near the hole when the keenness of the 
g-reens would make a lofted shot very dan- 
g-erous; it is also particularly useful on 
windy days when it is risky to let your ball 
rise into the air. Here, ag^ain, the stroke 
is very simple, although hard to acquire. 
Nothing but practice will give you the fac- 
ulty of judging the strength, and that is 
the all-important part. For the rest, it is 
merely necessary to hit the ball clean, allow- 
ing, of course, for any slope in the ground, 
but remembering that a ball which is struck 
true with a wooden putter will keep its line 
marvelously well over any little roughness 
or undulation. That is why it is often ad- 
visable to use the wooden putter, or the Mus- 
selburgh iron, as it used to be called rather 
contemptuously, at any distance up to forty 



The Full Iron Shot. 125 

yards or so from the hole, where there are 
a number of small hillocks intervening- 
which are sure to turn a lofted shot off the 
line, but hardly affect a truly hit put The 
wooden putter is more effective for this 
stroke than a cleek, because it is less likely 
to put any spin on the ball. But a cleek 
may be used in the same way where the lie 
does not warrant the use of the wooden 
club. 

The Full Iron So far I have not mentioned 
Shot. the full shot with the iron or 

cleek, because, properly speaking, that 
comes under the head of driving*. The only 
thing* to remember in using* the iron club in 
distinction from the ordinary driver is that 
a rather shorter swing* is advisable. A 
cleek or iron is naturally a more clumsy 
weapon than the driver, and therefore the 
tendency to press or to leng*then the swing* 
is more likely to have a disastrous effect. 
Do not forg*et, then, that overswing*ing* is 
particularly dang*erous with an iron club, 
and pay special attention to the finish of the 
stroke. 

One other point is worth mentioning*: 
It is constantly observed that the best 
players are apt to take a g*ood deal of turf 
with their iron shots, and the beginner 



126 The Full Iron Shot. 

generally desires an explanation of this 
seeming" misdemeanor. 

Of course, when the ball is lying- in a 
hard cup it is impossible not to take a cer- 
tain amount of the earth with the ball. But 
even with a g-ood lie you may often see an 
expert cut up a reg-ular blanket of turf. 

First of all, then, do not try to imitate 
him until you understand why and how it is 
done. If you watch him closely you will 
see that the turf is cut after the ball is 
struck, and not before ; and if you ask him to 
explain it he will tell you, probably, that he 
was not conscious before the shot of any 
intention in the matter. The reason is 
that in playing- many long approaches it is 
necessary to land on the g-reen without run- 
ning- very far, and in order to achieve the 
combination it is necessary to play a chop 
stroke; not, be it understood, the kind of 
stroke described above as the cut shot, for 
there the club is drawn across the line of 
flight, and the stroke is only advisable in 
playing with a half swing. Here the club 
is swung in the ordinary way, as in driving, 
except that the motion is rather more verti- 
cal than usual, and the follow through is 
checked by contact with the ground. The 
advantages of the stroke are two-fold: In 
the first place, you can check the roll on the 



Summary. 127 

ball to a certain extent without playing- 
across the line of flight, which is particu- 
larly difficult when a full swing- is employed, 
and at the same time the direction is more 
certain; secondly, you not only do not 
spoil the carrying- power of the stroke, but 
you actually impart an extra strength by 
the force of impact with the g-round, and so 
you succeed in playing* a shot which is 
often exceedingly useful; that is, one with a 
long- straight carry and a short roll. 

Do not, however, attempt this stroke in 
soft ground, and do not consciously attempt 
to cut the turf, for in that case you will 
probably do it before you hit the ball, with 
quite the wrong result. 

Summary. To sum up, then : In learning- 
to approach select an ordinary lig-ht iron, 
and use that alone. Begin with short ap- 
proaches and a very short swing, and g-rad- 
ually leng-then the stroke as it becomes nec- 
essary to cover more distance. Do not 
attempt a three-quarters shot until you are 
proficient in your half strokes. 

Always remember that the shorter the 
swing- the g-reater the accuracy; and the 
more uniform the style of your clubs, the 
less room is there for error. 

Be particularly careful not to force, and 
never take your eye off the ball until the 



128 Summary. 

stroke is finished, for the shorter the stroke 
the more apt are you to look at the hole in- 
stead of the ball. 

Above all, finish your stroke out to the 
end. The follow through is of supreme 
importance in approaching*. When you 
have learned to play the straightforward 
approach — and not until then — you may be- 
gin to practice the cut stroke, the high loft- 
ing stroke and the running-up game. 



CHAPTER IV. 

PUTTING. 

EVERY sort of instrument, from a re- 
spectable wooden putter to a croquet 
mallet or a billiard cue, has been used, and 
used successfully, on the putting* g-reen. 
No style or position is left untried, no mus- 
cle unturned which may help the ball to its 
much coveted resting* place. Some g*rip 
the shaft at the top, some at the bottom; 
some stand severely erect in the attitude of 
command, some crouch low over the recal- 
citrant g-utta percha, that they may the bet- 
ter coax or control its movements. One 
eminent player uses his cleek as if it were 
an eg-g*spoon, another astonishes his part- 
ner in a foursome by putting in neglige 
fashion with one hand. Every way is right 
which fulfills the purpose in view, and each 
individual is convinced that his style is the 
best. 

It is rather rash, then, to offer advice 
upon a subject which admits of so much di- 
versity of opinion. The novice will listen to 
the expert when he lectures upon driving 

1^9 



130 Position. 

or approaching-, for there his superiority 
grants him a privileg-e to preach. But 
when it comes to putting*, the part of the 
g-ame which to the outsider is not only very 
dull, but absurdly easy, and when the 
preacher misses in practice an eig-hteen- 
inch put which any child could kick into the 
hole, the beg*inner is very apt to reserve 
his judg-ment and cleave to his own self- 
cultivated style. 

Still, even in putting* there is a rig*ht and 
a wrong- way. Take the test of experience, 
and you will find that in the long* run the 
man who puts in the approved method 
wins the day. The man who handles his 
putter as he would a spade may do won- 
ders on ordinary occasions when nothing* 
depends upon the result; he is hopeless as 
soon as the strain beg"ins to tell. 
Position. Beg*in, then, by standing* just as 
you have been instructed to do in playing* 
a short wrist shot; that is, with the line 
of your feet at an angle of 45° with the line 
of the hole. Place the ball a little in front 
of your right foot; in fact, the feet being* 
closer than in driving*, the ball should be 
almost as near one as the other. 
The Hands. The hands should grasp the 
shaft just as they do in the short approach; 
the club should be held in the fingers of 



The Hands. 131 

each hand, and the hands should be as close 
tog'ether as possible. Some of the best 
players, both in putting- and approaching*, 
allow the rig-ht to overlap the left, in order 
to have but one fulcrum. This method is 
not recommended to the average player, 
because it requires a delicacy and firmness 
combined, w^hich only comes w^ith long- 
practice. Be careful not to g'rip the club 
too loosely, nor to allow the thumbs or fore- 
fingers to stray down the shaft. In putting-, 
as in driving-, there comes a time when you 
are totally unconscious of any g'rip on the 
club at all; the driver or putter becomes 
part of the player, just as a g-ood rider 
seems to be one with his horse. For the 
ordinary mortal, however, the club is some- 
thing* extraneous and apart, and the method 
of g-rasping- it is a matter of considerable 
importance. 

The most common fault in putting comes 
from slackness. Whenever your ball does 
not travel straight from the club, and es- 
pecially when you find yourself varying 
greatly in strength, look to your hands — 
you are probably holding too loosely, so 
that the head of the club turns ever so 
slightly as the ball is struck, which accounts 
for vagaries in strength and direction. 
Of course you must not hold your club 



132 The Choice of Club. 

as in a vise, nor must you allow either 
hand to dominate the other. The grip 
should be even with both hands — just tig-ht 
enoug-h to obviate any turning* of the head, 
and not so tig-ht as to stop the circulation 
or freeze the muscles. The position of the 
feet and hands should not be varied with 
the club, but in other respects there are a 
few differences in attitude, according* to 
the kind of putter you employ. 
The Choice of You may put with a cleek, a 
Club. putting- cleek, an iron putter or 

a wooden putter. By a cleek I mean any 
weapon of the driving- iron tribe which you 
may happen to fancy. It may be a straig'ht- 
faced driving- iron, a driving- mashie or a 
conjmon cleek. What differentiates it from 
a putting- cleek is that it has the ordinary 
driving- shaft, and the ang-le of the head and 
the shaft is more obtuse. The putter of 
every description is an uprig-ht club, re- 
quiring- rather a different attitude of body. 
It may sound rather an absurd statement, 
but g-eneral practice, I believe, will bear me 
out, when I maintain that if you are going- 
to use the iron club at all for putting-, the 
ordinary driving- cleek is a better weapon 
than the iron putter, which is made es- 
pecially for the purpose. 



Advantage of the Cleek. 133 

The Advantage In the first place, the iron put- 
of the Cleek. ter, pure and simple, is useless 
on g-reens that are at all roug-h and heavy, 
because it keeps the ball closer to the 
g-round than any other club. Secondly, the 
face is so smooth and straight that, unless 
the stroke is very accurate, the ball is apt 
to g-lide from it to rig-ht or left. Thirdly, 
both the head and the shaft are dead; they 
g-ive no life to the ball, as the wooden putter 
does. You will observe that these objec- 
tions w^ould have no weig*ht if you were 
playing- on a billiard table; but putting- 
greens are not billiard tables. Even the 
best of them have their roug-h or g-rassy 
spots, and therefore the club that does not 
keep the ball too close to the g-round is pref- 
erable. Also, if you are to use an iron club 
at all, there should be that driving- power 
which, in the wooden putter, is supplied by 
the material from which the head is made. 

But there is yet another reason for the 
use of the ordinary cleek, which I have never 
seen advanced in any book on the subject. 
In the second chapter I recommended a 
certain uniformity of weight and lie for all 
the wooden driving- clubs. For a similar 
reason I believe that the more your putter 
resembles your light iron in weight and lie, 
the more regular will be your short game. 



134 The Stroke. 

The Stroke. In putting you should beg-in, as 
in approaching, about thirty yards from 
the hole, and work in the opposite direction. 
Saving the fact that in one case you are 
playing with a cleek, and in the other with 
an iron, the stroke should be almost identi- 
cal. The club should be drawn back close 
to the ground and in a straight line; the 
backward movement — it can hardly be 
called a swing any longer — should be delib- 
erate, but not too long. Most beginners 
are inclined to draw the club too far back, 
both in putting and approaching. The left 
wrist should bend very little, but both the 
right wrist and elbow should be brought 
into use. In following the stroke through, 
the hands should be brought well forward, 
and the head of the club should point to- 
ward the hole. 

Practice this stroke from the extreme 
edge of the putting green, and then as you 
come nearer the hole you will find that there 
is only a difference of degree between play- 
ing an approach of seventy yards and nego- 
tiating a put of seven feet. It is hardly 
necessary to add that the eye must be kept 
fixed upon the ball, especially as you get 
nearer the hole. When you have a bad 
attack of inaccuracy in your short puts, as 
every golfer has from time to time, you will 



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135 



136 The Stroke. 

g-enerally find that you are looking at the 
hole instead of the ball. The mistake is 
peculiarly apt to happen in playing- your 
short puts, because the hole is so close that 
it catches your eye unawares. Look hard 
at your ball, then, and make up your mind 
to hit it clean. If you succeed you will very 
seldom miss the hole at short range. 

Only one thing more: In putting with a 
cleek it is advisable to strike the ball rather 
toward the heel of the club, because the 
balance is in that direction. With a wooden 
putter strike rather nearer the toe than the 
heel. 

If you use your cleek for putting in the 
manner suggested, you will observe that 
there is nothing of the pendulum motion 
which is often recommended in the books. 
The club does not swing evenly backward 
and forward in front of the body, but is 
pushed, as it were, away from the body 
toward the hole. This style of putting is 
really more like the forward stroke in 
cricket than anything else; and just as in 
cricket you keep the left arm and shoulder 
forward to avoid a pull, so in putting you 
should, if anything, bend your left elbow a 
little in dachshund fashion, and thus keep 
the left shoulder well over the ball. And 



The Iron Putter. 137 

whatever else you do, do 7iot rest the rig-ht 
elbow on the hip. Your arms should work 
perfectly freely from the shoulders, and the 
body should in no way enter into th e stroke ; 
if you allow yourself to come forward at all 
except with your arms, in striking- the ball, 
the results will be most disastrous. And 
since it is obvious that the body must move 
if the elbow is resting- on the hip, you must 
discard that method of play at all risks. I 
cannot conceive where it first orig-inated. 
There is hardly a sing-le g-ood putter among 
all the first-class players in Great Britain 
who does not keep his arms entirely free ; 
and yet I have seen numberless beg"inners 
in this country who have been told to put in 
that way by their professional advisers. 
The Iron In using- a putting- cleek or an 

Putter. iron putter or a wooden putter, 

it is necessary to stand more erect because 
the club itself is more uprig-ht; therefore 
you must be closer to your ball, and your 
feet should be less far apart. 

The best way of using- any of these 
three weapons is rather different from the 
method recommended above. Your reg-ular 
putter is a different club entirely from an 
iron or a cleek, and so you have to learn 
what is practically a new stroke. 




POSITION FOR THE IRON PUTTER 




AFTER THE STROKE 



140 The Pendulum Stroke. 

The The best putters who use the 

Pendulum iron club employ the wrists to a 
Stroke considerable extent, and let the 

head swing* backward and forward like a 
pendulum. There is no doubt that this is 
a very effective method, especially on very 
true g-reens. The only objection that can 
be raised ag-ainst it is that it requires g-reat 
delicacy of touch. 

The club is not pushed after the ball, as 
in the first case, but is swung- by the action 
of the wrists; and you will find that the 
smallest predominance in the streng-th of 
the g"rip with either hand will cause the ball 
to reflect from its proper line. In order to 
preserve accuracy the shaft must be held 
equally firmly in either hand, and neither 
arm must be broug-ht too much into the 
stroke. 

There is, it seems to me, another objec- 
tion on g-eneral principles to the use of the 
iron putter, and that is the difference al- 
ready shown between the short approach 
and the put. You cannot blend the two as 
you would if you used a cleek to put with. 

The best iron putter is probably the 
Park patent with the bent neck. It enables 
you to hit the ball rather more squarely, 
and does away in g-reat measure with the 
tendency to let the ball g-lide off the surface. 



The Wooden Putter. 141 

The Wooden But of all the putters, there is 
Putter. not one which is so trustworthy 

as the oldest of all — the wooden putter. 
New clubs for use on the g-reen are invented 
from time to time, and win adherents, but 
in the long- run the wooden putter holds its 
own. And this is the reason: If you are 
going- to use a short, heavy, uprig-ht club at 
all, it is better to use one that g-ives a cer- 
tain life to the ball. This is particularly 
essential in playing- long- approach puts, 
where the elasticity of the wooden face 
keeps the ball running- over any casual 
roug-hness which may come in the way. 
Moreover, unless your g-reens are very 
true, the wooden club has a g-reat advan- 
tag-e in that it does not keep the ball quite 
so close to the ground as the iron putter. A 
great many players find it advisable to use 
an iron club for short puts, even when they 
employ the wood everywhere else. That 
is simply a question of taste. Confidence 
is the main requisite for steadiness in holing 
short puts, and if you are not certain of one 
club, it is better to take another that you 
imagine you can rely upon. 

The position and method for the use of 
the wooden putter are practically the same 
as in the case of the iron putter or putting 
cleek. Do not forget, however, to hit the 




POSITION FOR THE WOODEN PUTTER 
143 



Distinction between Courses. 143 

ball slig-htly toward the toe of the club, or 
at all events, avoid striking- it with the heel. 
The Distinction Great latitude, as may be ob- 
between served, is permissible in the 

Courses. choice of clubs for use on the 

putting* g-reen. There is this much to be 
said, however: On courses in Scotland 
and Eng-land it would be perfectly safe to 
recommend the wooden putter in prefer- 
ence to all others, since the best links are 
all by the sea. In America, so many of the 
courses are inland, or rather, so few are 
near the sea, that a strong- distinction has 
to be drawn between seaside and inland 
putting- g-reens. Unless the soil is of a 
sandy nature, it is wrong- to beg-in life 
with a wooden putter. After a g-reat many 
years it may be possible to g-et the same 
fine g-rass inland as is found on seaside 
courses ; but even that is very doubt- 
ful. For the present at least, the coarser 
and more stubbly nature of the best lawn 
g-rass debars the effective use of the w^ooden 
putter. And yet you will find it very diffi- 
cult to play your long* puts with the ordi- 
nary iron putter, especially if the g-reens 
are at all heavy. The ball stays too near 
the ground, and its streng-th is affected by 
any unevenness, and especially by long- 
grass. The best club for inland greens is 



144 Distinction between Courses. 

therefore the genuine cleek with a driving- 
shaft, cut short if necessary for conven- 
ience' sake; it enables you to get the neces- 
sary distance without any great exertion, 
and it also allows the ball to travel more 
evenly over strong grass. 

It must be remembered, of course, that 
in recommending any particular club for 
putting purposes, nothing more is intended 
than an expression of opinion. I know num- 
bers of excellent players who disagree with 
me and who support their judgment by an 
irritating display of accuracy on the green. 
Still, since beginners have no prejudice in 
favor of one club or the other, it is just as 
well that they should choose that one whose 
use has been sanctioned b}^ the majority. 
Now, on sandy soil the wooden putter prob- 
ably has the preference among first-class 
players, and the cleek or some similar iron 
weapon is a good second. The regular iron 
putter, with its straight face and upright 
shaft, is not patronized to any great extent 
by the faculty. If you are going to use an 
iron putter at all, it is better to get what is 
known as a putting cleek, a sort of cross 
between a driving cleek and an iron putter, 
or else one of Park's patent clubs, with the 
crooked neck. 



The Line of the Put. 145 

The Line of And finally, remember to look 
the Put. at the ball. Too much care over 
the line of your put is a dang-erous thing-. 
Make up your mind as to your direction 
first, and then when you address the ball, 
look once at the hole and once at some in- 
tervening* point of the line which you have 
chosen, and then devote yourself entirely 
to hitting- the ball clean. Many players ex- 
amine their puts from both ends. But I 
hardly think that this is a g-ood plan unless 
you cannot decide easily upon the line by 
looking- at it behind the ball. In ordinary 
cases it is only confusing- to examine it from 
both points of view. Be very careful to 
place the head of your club evenly on the 
ground, and hit your ball with confidence, 
and you will be surprised to find how many 
times it will find the hole. 
Summary. To sum up, then: Choose the 
club that suits you best, but do not use a 
wooden putter on inland g-reens unless they 
are in perfect condition. 

Do not rest your rig-ht elbow on your 
hip. In using- a reg-ular putter stand erect 
and swing- the club more or less like a pen- 
dulum; in using- a cleek, or any driving- 
club, g-et rather more over the ball with the 
shoulders and push the arms toward the 
hole. 



146 Summary. 

Do not put entirely with the wrists. 
The arms and even the shoulders should 
enter into the stroke. 

Do not study the line of your put too 
long-. 

Think more of hitting* your ball clean 
than of anything- else. Keep your eye on 
the ball. 




PhoUxjraphed by R. W. Hawks, Edinfmrgh 
MR. JOHN BALL, PUTTING 
147 




Photographed by R. W. Hawks, Edinburgh 
MR. F. G. TAIT, PUTTING 
148 



i 




Photographed hy B. W. Haw'ks, ErUnburgh 
MR. F. G. TAIT, AFTER THE PUT 
i49 



CHAPTER V. 

MISCELLANKOUS SUGGESTIONS. 

IT is always hard for the experienced 
player in any g-ame to sympathize with 
the difficulties of the beg-inner. In golf, the 
only way in which the expert can in any way 
put himself in the duffer's place is by play- 
ing- a few holes with a set of clubs such as 
is usually sold to the unsuspicious novice. 
He will then come to the conclusion that 
there is nothing- extraordinary in the in- 
ability of the strug-gling beginner to achieve 
the desired result; on the contrary, it is 
surprising that with such implements he 
succeeds in doing anything- even passably 
well. Golf clubs are turned out by the 
million in these days, and anything- short of 
a broomstick is considered good enough for 
the young player to g-o out and break. 
The Selection There is a certain hindrance 
of Clubs. in the way of the novice, from the 
very nature of things. He would probably 
use up a larger number of the fine shafts 
and delicately turned heads that are made 
for men who know the difference between 
a good club and a bad one. And so he is 

151 



152 Selection of Clubs. 

g-enerally persuaded by his friends to select 
a badly shaped lump of wood, miscalled a 
driver, thinking- that one weapon is as g*ood 
as another for his purpose, so long- as the 
chances of breakag-e are as far as possible 
eliminated. And yet it is quite a mistaken 
idea to suppose that every beg-inner must 
sow his wild oats to the extent that is usually 
taken for g-ranted. If he g-oes out deter- 
mined to drive the ball at least a quarter of 
a mile at first sig-ht, and is content with 
nothing- short of a full set of contortions in 
imitation of what he imag-ines to be a St. 
Andrews swing- — and after all, that is the 
course that most beg-inners do pursue — 
then his only chance of reducing- his account 
with the club maker to reasonable propor- 
tions, is to choose what Virg-il would call 
no small part of a tree, and do his best with 
it. In this way he may avoid g-reat pecun- 
iary loss, but his best will be exceeding-ly 
bad. If, on the other hand, he has read the 
first chapter of this book and has inwardly 
dig-ested it, he will beg-in quietly with a half- 
swing-, and will so restrain his force that it 
will be quite unnecessary to break any clubs 
at all. Indeed, if the beginner really takes 
the advice there offered to him there is no 
reason in the world why he should not be 
far less destructive to his clubs than the 



Weight of Club. 153 

g-ood player who hits cleaner, but with far 
g-reater force. 

Accordingly, if you really mean to play 
the g*ame for what it is worth, do not be 
content with whatever your club maker 
may offer you. The ordinary price of a 
driver in Scotland is five shilling's and six- 
pence, in this country between a dollar and 
a half and two dollars. But it may be taken 
for g-ranted that at least seventy-five per 
cent of the clubs which are sold at that 
price are quite unfit to play with. The 
driver which you have made to order for 
double the price is g-enerally worth a whole 
stack full of the ready made article. If 
possible, then, the beginner should either 
procure a club from some more experienced 
friend, and have it copied, or he should in- 
sist upon the club maker supplying* him 
with a club of reasonable proportions. 
The Weight. In order to choose most wisely, 
think first of all about the weig-ht. It would 
not be an exag'geration to say that two-thirds 
of the men who are attempting* to play g*olf 
in America at the present time are using 
clubs which are far too heavy for the pur- 
pose. I constantly hear it said when any 
remonstrance is offered: '* With my style I 
need a heavy club," or, *'I am too weak to 
use a light club," or, '' With my strength I 



154 Weight of Club. 

really oug-ht to be able to play with a heavy 
driver," and so on in a similar strain. If 
you really do find that you can do better 
vv^ith a heavily weighted club, you should at 
once chang-e your style of play; there must 
be something- radically wrong- with it. For 
there is a universal consensus of opinion 
among- g-ood players upon the subject. 
Some, of course, use heavier clubs than 
others; it stands to reason that a man with 
very powerful arms and wrists can swing- 
a club which a weaker player could not use 
at all. But even allowing- for differences in 
individual streng-th, a careful examination 
of the drivers of all the g-ood players in the 
world would show a surprising-ly small 
variety in weig-ht. 

There is an easily understood reason 
why the beg-inner is naturally inclined to 
select a heavy club. He has not yet learned 
to sweep the ball away instead of hitting- it 
as he would with a sledg-e hammer; and ob- 
viously if the ball is struck at as if it were 
a resisting- object the heavier the club is 
the better will be the result. But this is 
not g"olf. It is possible, of course, to hit an 
occasional long- ball with the sledg-e hammer 
stroke, but leng-th must be sacrificed to 
accuracy, and the player who adopts this 
method g-enerally g-oes from bad to worse, 



Weight of Club. 155 

until he ruins his chances of ever becoming- 
even a fairly g-ood performer. The best 
players are also addicted at times to this 
hitting- or chopping* tendency, very often 
for the simple reason that they have un- 
consciously been using- heavier clubs than 
they are accustomed to. Whenever this is 
the case it is not at all a bad plan to extract 
a little lead. But with the beginner or the 
young- player who is not yet certain of his 
style, a more radical chang-e is generally 
necessary. If he finds that he cannot g-et 
the necessary distance out of a driver of 
medium weig"ht, it is almost certain that he 
is not sweeping- the ball away at all; he is 
checking- his swing as the club comes down 
instead of letting it follow through. In 
such a case there is nothing for him to do 
but to go back to first principles. 

Having stated the reasons for using a 
light club, it is necessary to say exactly 
what the term implies. Advice of this sort 
is seldom of much service unless it is ac- 
companied by figures. And yet the actual 
weight of a driver varies so much accord- 
ing to the balance and lie, that it is almost 
dangerous to be too definite. Still, a general 
estimate may be of some assistance. The 
weight of a driver head should not exceed 
seven ounces ; the shaft should be no 



156 Weight of Club. 

heavier; add the two and you will g'et a 
fairly g-ood idea of what the whole club 
should weigh when a fraction of an ounce 
has been added for the g-lue and string- used 
in splicing- the two tog-ether. 

I am perfectly certain that if beg-inners 
would observe these limits very carefully, 
they would not only g-et better results, but 
they would not risk their entire future 
prospects by ruining- their styles at the 
outset. One cannot insist too strong-ly 
upon this point because, for the reasons al- 
ready g-iven, it is exceeding-ly hard to im- 
press upon the young- player the danger of 
using a heavy club. Even the more ex- 
perienced golfer is apt to forget the differ- 
ence that a fraction of an ounce will make 
in a long match of thirty-six holes. Just as 
in carrying a gun, an ounce or two is a mat- 
ter of no importance when the morning is 
young, but the difference tells enormously 
at the end of a long day; so with a driver 
that is a shade too heavy, the first eighteen 
tee shots may be struck perfectly clean, 
but the last nine in the afternoon are apt to 
be very erratic. 

And especially if a player does not pos- 
sess great strength of wrist, should he be 
warned against the mistaken idea that ex- 
tra weight in the club will make up for lack 



The Shaft. 157 

of muscle behind it. If the strong- man 
should use a light club it is far more neces- 
sary that the weaker player should avoid a 
superabundance of lead. The main object 
is to hit the ball clean, and the distance will 
take care of itself. No one can be sure of a 
clean, steady stroke if he is using- a club 
which is too heavy for him. 
The Shaft. First, then, make up your mind 

as to the weig-ht of your wooden club ; and 
then look at the shaft. It is the fashion from 
time to time to adopt a thick, stiff shaft, but 
no one has ever explained why that should be 
preferable. The shaft should be as thin 
as possible without becoming too supple. 
There is a danger too of a very thin shaft 
losing its shape quickly, although that is 
not an important consideration, because it 
depends far more upon the quality of the 
wood. A good piece of split hickory ought 
to taper down where it joins the head with- 
out becoming supple at all. There should 
be a certain amount of spring, but do not 
select a club with the spring high up in the 
shaft. In trying it you ought not to feel 
any suppleness at all in the grip. In other 
words, the spring should begin about half 
way between the leather and the head. 
Very few shafts answer to this description, 
because so much unseasoned wood is used 



158 The Shaft. 

in the manufacture of golf clubs that it is 
safer to leave the shaft in a more or less 
clumsy form to avoid bending- or breakage. 
Nevertheless, even the beginner should get 
as good a club as possible, and if he can find 
a thin shaft which is not at the same time 
flabby, he may be fairly certain that he has 
got a good piece of wood. 

The shafts of all clubs, it may be re- 
marked, should be made from split hickory. 
Various other woods have been substituted, 
but they have nearly always been found 
wanting. Hickory combines lightness and 
spring with strength and durability in a 
way that no other wood can equal. Seeing 
that hickory is one of the commonest woods 
in America, there should be no difficulty in 
securing good shafts in this country. 

In selecting the head of a driver, the 
most important thing, next to the w^eight, is 
the angle which it makes with the shaft. 
Here again, individual taste must be consid- 
ered ; but, as a general rule, the angle is far 
too obtuse. The result is that the player 
cannot stand erect and still keep the sole of 
the club level upon the ground. Remem- 
ber that your steadiness in driving is 
greatly increased by standing fairly erect 
and using what is called an upright club; 



Shape of the Head, 159 

that is to say, one with not too obtuse an 
ang-le between the shaft and the head. 
The Shape of As for the shape of the head, you 
the Head. should use a bulg-er with plenty of 
wood in it. There is a tendency among- 
bad club makers to turn out drivers with a 
g-reat deal of material in the neck, but too 
narrow a surface in the face. Just as the 
shaft should taper toward the bottom, so 
the part of the head which joins the shaft 
should be made as fine as possible, in order 
to impart the requisite spring-. 

For the purposes of the beginner ■ it is all 
important to secure a g*ood driver, because 
he ought to content himself, for a time at 
least, w4th practice in driving-. And at all 
stag-es of the game there is nothing- which 
adds so much to the pleasure of the g-ame, 
as the possession of a club which g-ives the 
player every chance of success in striking 
from the tee. But a careful selection of the 
other clubs in the set is really just as im- 
portant, as soon as the elementary part of 
the game has been mastered. 
The Brassey. I have already pointed out that the 
brassey should resemble the driver, both 
in weight and lie. The more uniform you 
can make your clubs in that respect, the 
greater will be your steadiness. And for 
that reason I would again suggest that you 



i6o Iron Clubs. 

should discard the brassey wherever the 
character of the turf warrants it, and use 
instead either a second driver for playing* 
throug'h the g-reen or the old fashioned spoon 
which has almost g-one out of use. A spoon 
is simply a driver with the face a little laid 
back in order to raise the ball more easily, 
and with the shaft a trifle shorter and stiffer. 
Whether you employ a brassey or a spoon, it 
is best not to lay the face back too much, be- 
cause any artificial aid in raising* the ball 
from the g*round is rather to be deprecated. 
The natural movement of the swing should 
answer the purpose unless the ball is lying* 
in a hole or on the downward slope of a hill. 
As for the superiority of the driver or spoon 
over the brassey, there can be little doubt 
that the brass on the bottom of the club 
must alter the distribution of the weig'ht, 
and so destroy the uniformity of your 
wooden clubs without any compensating* ad- 
vantage, except in cases where the g*round 
is so hard and rough as to injure the sole of 
the wooden club. 

Iron Clubs. In the selection of iron clubs there 
is great scope for variety of taste. I have 
already warned the beginner against the 
use of a very lofted club, for reasons just 
stated with reference to the spoon. If you 
play the stroke properly, you should not re- 



Iron Clubs. i6i 

quire much assistance from the club itself 
in order to loft the ball over any ordinary ob- 
stacle. And so your approaching- club should 
be the lig-ht iron, which you may employ for 
any distance, from a hundred and twenty 
yards down to thirty or forty. In addition 
to that you will need a cleek or a driving- 
mashie for distances of about one hundred 
and fifty yards, and a driving- iron is useful 
in neg-otiating- distances which are rather 
shorter, and yet too long- for the lig-ht iron, 
and also for playing- all kinds of approach 
shots in a high wind. 

The preference among- g-ood players 
seems at present to be in favor of the 
driving- mashie as ag-ainst the cleek, 
partly because the face is shorter, and 
therefore more accommodating- when the 
ball is lying- badly, and partly because the 
extra breadth of the blade admits more 
latitude for error. The best driving- mash- 
ies are probably those which are made by 
Forg-an and Auchterlonie, in St, Andrews. 
They are made without the bulg-e in the 
back, which is rather a hindrance than any- 
thing- else. In fact, it is just as well to 
avoid all iron clubs with the bulg*e. They 
do not drive any farther, and the weig-ht is 
so much concentrated that the slig-htest 



1 62 Iron Clubs. 

deviation from the center of the club in- 
volves a very bad stroke. 

In choosing- between a mashie and what 
is g*enerally called a lofter, it is much better 
to take the former. A g-ood mashie should 
weigh about as much as your lig-ht iron, and 
should not be excessively laid back. A 
lofter is made after the fashion of a soup 
ladle, and cannot possibly be used with 
g-reat accuracy. The beg-inner cling-s to it 
because he finds that he can overcome ob- 
structions with it, forgetting- that with a 
little practice he can obtain the same results 
by using- a less lofted mashie, where the 
occasion demands it, and as a general rule 
the ordinary light iron, which is not such a 
spectacular club, but infinitely more trust- 
worthy. 

Up to the present time there seems to 
be little sign of any great improvement on 
the part of American club makers upon the 
implements that come from Scotland, and 
for that reason the beginner cannot do bet- 
ter than look for the name of one of the 
great Scotch club makers. Irons are not 
like drivers. As far as the shape of the 
head goes, there is no reason why they 
should not be turned out by the thousand. 
The name of a club maker on the head of a 
driver means nothing at all, because only 



Iron Clubs. 163 

one out of ten wooden clubs is made of 
properly seasoned wood, and only one out 
of twenty is worth the price that is paid 
for it. But when once a club maker has 
secured a good pattern for an iron club, 
he should be able to duplicate it forever. 
Forg-an, Morris and Auchterlonie, to men- 
tion only three, can always be trusted in 
that respect, and Simpson, at Carnoustie, 
turns out some excellent lig-ht irons. For- 
g-an's driving- mashie is perhaps the pret- 
tiest and most useful club of the kind that 
is made, and all Auchterlonie's irons are 
g'ood. 

As for wooden clubs, it is best to buy 
them on the spot if you have a g'ood club 
maker. The Scotch professionals control 
the market in that respect, because it is al- 
most impossible for any one to make wooden 
clubs who does not understand their use. 
The wholesale manufacture of wooden clubs 
may meet the enormous demand which 
comes from all parts of the country, as far 
as quantity g'oes, but the quality is dis- 
tinctly lacking*. If you have not a g'ood 
professional club maker close at hand, you 
must do what you can with the ready made 
article ; but there is no reason why any golf 
club should not secure the services of a 
really good professional maker. 



164 Choice of Balls. 

The Choice of The selection of balls is a more 
Balls. uncertain matter. The difficulty 

is two-fold. The professional club makers 
who make a limited number of balls out of 
good material cannot furnish supplies to the 
general market ; on the other hand, the firms 
which manufacture balls by the thousand 
are sure to become careless. At the present 
time there is no ball in this country which 
for all-round purposes surpasses that which 
is made by the Silvertown compan}^ The 
material is generally good, the molding is 
excellent and the paint holds very well. 
Unfortunately one often comes across a box 
of Silvertowns which are not seasoned, 
are carelessly painted and badly pressed. 
Always look carefully at the molding; if 
it is clean cut, the ball has probably been 
well pressed and will fly true. If it is shal- 
low and indistinct, the mold has probably 
been worn out and the ball is not properly 
pressed. A good clear marking is very 
essential, and the paint should be applied 
in such a way as not to fill up the interstices. 
There are a number of different balls in use 
in America which are more or less good. 
The Woodley Flyer and the Black A 1 are 
very similar in make, but neither of them 
comes up to the best of the Silvertowns. 
Just at present there is a great demand 



The Playing of Matches. 165 

for balls made in the Agrippa mold. And 
there does seem to be some advantag-e in 
the marking*, as is evidenced by the fact 
that balls which are remade in that mold 
are g*enerally superior to any others. There 
is this objection, however, to the averag-e 
Ag-rippa ball, that it does not keep either its 
shape or its paint so well as a g-ood Silver- 
town. Consequently »they make up in ex- 
pense for what they g-ain in flying- capacity. 
It is a g-ood plan to lay in a store of balls 
so that you are certain of their being- prop- 
erly seasoned. But it should be remem- 
bered that it is possible to keep a ball too 
long-. From eighteen months to two years is 
about the limit; after that there is a loss in 
weight and elasticity. 

On the Playing When you have secured a good 
of Matches, set of clubs and the right kind of 
ball, and have even learned to play a steady 
game, there is still much that you can do 
to improve upon your knowledge and en- 
joyment of golf. First of all, play the 
game for the sake of the personal en- 
counter. For, after all, golf is a trial of 
skill, and not a solitary mode of exercise. 
For that reason, give up, as far as possible, 
counting your score, and devote your time 
to playing matches. In arranging a game 
you should, for your own advantage, play 



1 66 The Playing of Matched. 

with your superiors, but it is both useless 
and discourag-ing- to encounter a man who 
can g-ive you very g-reat odds. One stroke 
a hole is the limit which can be g*iven in 
order to make a match interesting*, and 
even that is putting- it at a hig-h fig-ure. A 
match can be keenly exciting- between two 
men who differ by six strokes in the round, 
but anything- above that is apt to rob the 
g-ame of its interest. Still, if you are a very 
bad player, but can yet be relied upon to a 
certain extent, you may improve your g-ame 
immensely by playing- in foursomes with 
men who can g-ive you very great odds. It 
is astonishing- how successfully a pair, con- 
sisting- of a first-class and a fourth-class 
player, can encounter two players of the sec- 
ond class. But whatever you do, never play 
a man on level terms who ought either to 
g-ive you odds or receive them from you. 
That is a very common mistake which is 
constantly being made, because there are 
certain players who object, for some un- 
known reason, to taking- odds in any game. 
To obviate this habit, the custom of betting-, 
as long- as it is kept within well defined lim- 
its, is most beneficial. A man may be will- 
ing to take a beating on even terms when 
he loses nothing thereby, either in purse or 
in pride, and stands to win a good deal of 



Giving and Taking Odds. 167 

g-lory should he chance to gain the victory. 
But if he is playing- for a stake, be it ever so 
small, the commercial instinct is aroused, 
and he will take all the odds that his oppo- 
nent will concede. In the latter case he may 
improve his game; in the former he cer- 
tainly will not. The only way to become a 
g-ood golfer is to play every match for all it 
is worth, and in order to do this you should 
always arrange the odds as fairly as pos- 
sible. 

Giving and The practice of giving and re- 

Taking Odds, ceiving bisques is by no means 
a bad method of handicapping in match play 
because it gives the inferior player a chance 
of playing his opponent on even terms as 
long as he likes, and at the end of the game if 
he has won the match without the aid of his 
bisques he is entitled to all possible credit. 
The better player cannot then argue that 
the game had no interest for him, as he 
might if it were really played without 
odds at all. And from the expert's point 
of view it is by no means a bad plan ; for he is 
forced to play the game from the very start. 
If he is giving his opponent half a stroke a 
hole, he is apt to play very carelessly in the 
holes where there are no strokes ; but when 
he is giving bisques he cannot afford to 
throw away a single chance, because he must 



1 68 The Etiquette of Golf. 

not only divide these holes, but must win 
them if possible with a stroke to spare. But 
whatever the system of handicapping- may 
be, always take as much as you can g-et, and 
g*ive as little as will be accepted, and you 
will still find that if there is anything at all 
at stake, you will have to play a g-ood game 
to win. In that way you will soon become 
a good match player; otherwise you will 
probably improve more slowly, and in the 
meantime get much less enjoyment out of 
the game. 

The Etiquette The etiquette of golf should 
of Golf. also be most carefully studied. 

You may not be a good player, but you may 
at least equal the very best exponents of the 
game in your manner of playing it. As far as 
the rules go, be most scrupulous, even in an 
ordinary practice game, to observe the strict 
letter of the law, and never take any con- 
cession from your opponent. If he asks you 
to remit a penalty, that is another matter. 
You ought to be in a position, however, to 
refuse him everything that is not his by 
right. On the other hand, do not quibble 
about technical points which obviously do 
not enter into the spirit of the rule. For 
instance, no one, whose mind is not clouded 
by enthusiasm, could ever think of claiming 
a hole because his opponent accidentally 



The Etiquette of Golf. 169 

drops a club in a bunker where his ball is 
lying- some distance away. Be very careful, 
however, to do nothing-, either in action or 
in words, which may annoy your opponent 
and so spoil his g-ame. There are many 
subtle ways of irritating- him if he is at alia 
nervous player, and to tell the truth, there 
are a number of prominent g-olfers who are 
not above < employing these questionable 
methods; not that they would intentionally 
put him off a stroke, but they seem to think 
that remarks which are quite unnecessary, 
and which may prove rather annoying-, are 
perfectly leg-itimate. 

In Eng-land or Scotland players who re- 
sort to these devices are very easily dealt 
with. No one plays with them. Here it is 
not so easy to act in that way, because there 
are so many tournaments and prize com- 
petitions that for at least half your season 
you cannot choose either your partner or 
your opponent. I have actually heard a 
player admit that he sometimes plays more 
slowly than is absolutely necessary, because 
it may assist him to defeat his adversary. 
If he only thoug-ht about it for a moment he 
would see that such a course is really just 
as reprehensible as a deliberate attempt to 
interfere with a player's swing-. He oug-ht, 
on the contrary, to be particularly careful 



170 Duties of On-lookers. 

to avoid undue deliberation, which might 
unintentionally be a cause of annoyance. 
The Duties of It may be useful to point out 
On=lookers. here to onlookers in the game that 
they also have duties to perform. If they 
care to follow a match they are bound in all 
courtesy to study the wishes of the players. 
The most common fault which may be found 
is in the position which is nearly always 
assumed by ignorant bystanders when a 
player is making a stroke. They naturally 
stand behind the ball in the direct line of 
flight, which is the one place they ought to 
avoid. They should either stand behind the 
player's back where he cannot see them at 
all, or right in front of him, so that they do 
not catch his eye as he swings backward. 
And above all, they should not move or 
speak until the shot is played. There is 
ample time for conversation between shots 
without disturbing the player just as he is 
about to hit the ball. It would be most 
beneficial if a few suggestions of this nature 
were incorporated in the rules upon the 
etiquette of golf, and especially if a diagram 
were made showing exactly where the on- 
looker should stand when a stroke is being 
played. 



CHAPTER VI. 

TRAINING AND TOURNAMENT PLAY. 

THERE was a time when g-olf was 
played as a recreation. In those days 
any one would have ridiculed a definite 
system of training- for the big- events. But 
now that the game has become the main 
business of our lives, any course of exercise 
or rule of diet which may bring- enhanced 
opportunities of victory must be taken into 
the most serious consideration. And yet 
in matters of training- g-olf is unlike any of 
the other g-reat games which we pursue 
with short intervals for business. No one 
can consume an unlimited amount of to- 
bacco and still row in a college race with any 
chance of success. The captain of a foot- 
ball team would be foolish if he did not dis- 
courage pastry and strong drink. Even 
the devotees of the polo field must refrain 
from Pommery at every meal. With golf it 
is quite another matter. Some of our best 
players are tobacco fiends. One can hardly 
picture Mr. F. G. Tait without his pipe, or 
Mr. Hilton shorn of his cigarette. Our 

171 



172 Tournament Play. 

best scores are often made after nig-hts of 
whist and Scotch whisky; indeed, there are 
those who believe that the true secret of 
success is somehow bound up with liberal 
ideas upon the subject of the national drink 
of Caledonia. This view of the question 
impresses itself with startling* emphasis 
upon athletes in this country who have been 
accustomed to look upon the traditions of 
the training- table as upon the unalterable 
laws of the Medes and Persians. And they 
are apt to feel very indignant when in spite 
of careful diet they are defeated by less 
scrupulous opponents who, by all the rules 
of retribution, ought to be incapable of 
hitting the ball at all. 

As a general rule, training is simply a 
matter of habit. Most American oars- 
men would be rather surprised if they 
could see the members of a college eight, 
at Oxford, supposed to be in strict train- 
ing, drinking liberal potations of home 
brewed ale during dinner, and washing it 
down with a glass or two of the richest 
port that the common room can supply. 
And I imag-ine that the captain of an 
American football or baseball team would be 
scandalized to hear that in the case of the 
'varsity cricket elevens and football fif- 
teens, in England, such a thing as training- 



Tournament Play. 173 

in any shape or form is practically un- 
known. Possibly, the great Eng-lish uni- 
versities err rather in the direction of lib- 
erality. But after all, a game ought to be 
played for the sake of recreation, and not 
studied like a profession. Moreover, I 
doubt very much whether the winning* ca- 
pacity of any football team is g'reatly in- 
creased by any close restrictions in the 
matter of diet. One understands, of course, 
that smoking- should be prohibited among- 
college eights, because the consumption of 
tobacco, particularly on the part of young 
men, is apt to injure the wind. But in 
games where there is no continued strain 
upon the lungs, the question of smoking is 
totally irrelevant. However that may be, 
it is perfectly natural that golf, being a 
game of recent importation into America, 
has not yet become a subject for any strict 
laws upon the subject of training. 

Believing firmly, as I do, that in every 
sport latitude in diet and habits of life is 
strongly to be recommended, both because 
such a course is consistent with success, 
and because it is not reasonable to regard 
any game or sport in too serious a light, I 
have no intention of writing any prescrip- 
tions for use before tournaments. Even if 
such advice were desirable in dealing with 



174 Tournament Play. 

rowing or foot ball, the circumstances which 
surround the game of golf would rob it of 
all its value. The players in this case are 
generally men of mature years and settled 
habits, who could not change their methods 
of life without serious discomfort. More- 
over, it must always be remembered that 
the mental condition is of far greater im- 
portance than physical fitness. You can- 
not play golf if you are worried in mind, 
and therefore my first exhortation to any 
one about to enter a tournament or play an 
important match is that he should divest 
himself entirely of all thoughts bearing 
upon any subject except the matter imme- 
diately in hand. Concentration of purpose 
is quite as necessary as strength of arm. 

Let no one suppose, however, that a 
sound physical condition is not of supreme 
importance. A blind man, a cripple or a 
habitual drunkard is not likely to win many 
trophies on the links. 

Whoever is looking for advice upon the 
playing of tournaments is at least a person 
of some athletic sense. He knows that the 
better his health is, the greater are his 
chances of success; he knows also that 
practice makes perfect, if he has read his 
copybook. These are truisms which are 
granted at the outset. But I desire chiefly 



Tournament Play. 175 

to point out that the average man who leads 
an uprig-ht and sober life would act very 
foolishly to change any of his ordinary 
habits before a tournament. If he is a 
smoker, he should on no account discard 
tobacco; if he is accustomed to stimulants, 
he should drink just as much as, and no 
more than, he does on ordinary occasions. 

Possibly some one may confront me with 
the argument that both smoking and drink- 
ing are injurious to the health. If any one 
thinks so he would be wise to abjure them 
both, but he should abjure them ^^/<3: man and 
not qua golfer. If, on the other hand, these 
pleasant habits are not found to hurt the 
system in other departments of life, it is 
impossible to see why they should interfere 
with the game of golf. In fact, I would 
even go a step further and say that they 
are positively conducive to good play. 
Take, for instance, a man who smokes a 
certain amount of tobacco every day; when 
he comes to a tournament, or to a close 
match, he will find a great deal of help and 
consolation in his pipe or his cigarette, as the 
case may be. Another player, perhaps, is ac- 
customed during a hard day's golf to fortify 
himself in various ways at luncheon or at 
dinner, when the game is over. To such a 
person I would never say, Omit your whisky 



176 Tournament Play. 

and soda during* a tournament. I should 
be much more inclined to admonish him to 
take two where before he took one. The 
mental strain of a tournament increases the 
ordinary fatigue of playing- at least one 
hundred per cent, and therefore those 
accustomed to stimulant of any sort should 
increase rather than diminish the dose. 
As for diet, there is hardly any thing- which 
a man who is playing- thirty-six holes a day 
cannot and may not eat with safety. Good 
food, and plenty of it, is the watchword 
for every golfer. It may be necessary, how- 
ever, to g-uard ag-ainst one error, for which 
Mr. Horace Hutchinson, in perfect inno- 
cence, is partly responsible. 

Some years ag-o, when first-class players 
were not so plentiful, and record breaking- 
was not a matter of every-day occurrence, 
Mr. Leslie Balfour-Melville, in playing- for 
the medal of the Royal and Ancient Golf 
Club, at St. Andrews, broke the existing- 
record for medal play, by completing- the 
eig-hteen holes in eig-hty-five strokes. It 
was hardly expected that such a score could 
be beaten. Mr. Alexander Stuart, however, 
had not started when Mr. Balfour-Melville 's 
card was handed in. With excellent dis- 
cretion he ordered himself a steak and a 
pint of champagne, which he discussed at 



Tournament Play. 177 

leisure, and thereafter surprised every one 
by returning- a score of eig-hty-three, break- 
ing- by two strokes the record which had 
been established only two hours before. 

Mr. Horace Hutchinson, in compiling- 
the Badminton book ong-olf, was mindful of 
this occurrence, and, while publishing no 
names, he printed a picture strongly re- 
sembling* Mr. Stuart in the act of eating- 
that fateful luncheon, and held it up as an 
example to all future aspirants for golfing 
honors. It is years now since the medal 
record at St. Andrews stood as high as 
eighty-six, and so I may be forgiven for 
mentioning- proper names; Mr. Hutchinson 
may also forgive me if I point out that his 
advice on that subject is good relatively, 
but not absolutely. It was only a chance 
suggestion in any case; yet that picture of 
the steak and the man, and above all, the 
familiar pint bottle, has something so com- 
forting and attractive about it, that many 
readers have fastened their attention upon 
that piece of advice to the exclusion of 
everything- else. 

In reality, it is mainly a question of cli- 
mate. In the cold air of Scotland, no harm 
can come of seeking adventitious aid from 
Heidsieck's special cuvee^ or even the more 
democratic Glenlivet. In America we are 



178 Tournament Play. 

accustomed to play golf in almost tropical 
weather, and under such circumstances 
stimulants should be administered after, 
rather than before, the contest. Any one 
who is in the habit of playing- games is 
aware that on a hot day, and especially after 
taking exercise, the smallest modicum of 
alcohol is apt to affect the eye, and there- 
fore it by no means follows that what may 
be done with success in Scotland can be 
ventured upon with impunity in America. 

In hot weather it is well to be rather 
careful between rounds, and when an 
important match has to be played in the 
afternoon, a light luncheon is particularly 
advisable.* In other respects, however, care 
in training may be greatly overdone. Even 
in rowing it is customary to administer 
champagne to a crew after a hard race; and 
in golf, where the strain is of far longer 
duration, a hard day's play may very reason- 
ably be rewarded by such restoratives as 
may be found most acceptable. 

The regulation of practice in the game 
itself is more important than any restric- 
tion of diet. Golf has been taken up, like 
most other pursuits in America, with an 
enormous amount of enthusiasm; and the 
constant tendency is in the direction of 
overplay. In England and Scotland there 



Tournament Play. 179 

are very few weeks in the year when golf 
is impracticable, and only a month or two 
when the temperature is either disag-ree- 
ably hot or cold. Yet the best players very 
rarely devote more than four or five weeks 
in the spring- and a similar time in the 
autumn to the real practice of the g-ame. 
During- the rest of the year they may play 
an occasional match, but they are seldom on 
the links for two days in succession. In 
America, those who play g-olf at all do it 
for six months at a time, and they are sur- 
prised to find that they cannot keep up their 
form for the whole of that period. 

If g-olf is g"oing- to be a reg*ular part of 
your existence, two or at most three days a 
week is quite enoug-h for its exercise, if you 
desire to preserve either your skill or your 
interest. And even then it would be ad- 
visable to take an occasional week off and 
g-et away entirely from the atmosphere of 
the g-ame. When it comes to tournament 
play you should order all your practice with 
a view to reaching- the top of your g-ame 
just at the rig-ht moment. It is fatal to 
strike twelve a month before the important 
event. Consequently, if you find that you 
are actually improving* too quickly, you 
should be all the more careful not to overdo 
it. Most g-olf ers will tell you that they play 



i8o Tournament Play. 

the strong-est and most consistent g-ame 
about the end of the third week from the 
time that they began reg^ular practice; so 
that you must pursue a course of this na- 
ture (remembering- always that we are 
speaking- now with reg-ard to success in an 
important tournament, and not from the 
point of view of any pleasure that you may 
derive from the pastime). Granted that 
you have already developed your g-ame to 
the limit of its capacity, you should g-ive up 
playing- altog-ether about two months before 
the tournament in question, and for four or 
five weeks you should, if possible, keep 
away entirely from the sig-ht of a g-olf links ; 
even the discussion of the g-ame should be 
avoided. You require a complete mental 
and physical rest from this most arduous 
pursuit. You must not, however, g-ive up 
every kind of physical exercise. One con- 
stantly hears that tennis and cricket and 
baseball spoil g-olf. This is an entirely mis- 
taken idea. Of course, you cannot play 
cricket or baseball and g-olf interchange- 
ably. If you do you will fail in both. But 
if you have already acquired a good golfing* 
style, you may play any other game for a 
year, and then go back to golf and find that 
you have gained rather than lost by the di- 
version. The fact is that the constant 



Tournament Play. i8i 

practice of any sing-le g-ame develops only a 
certain set of muscles, and these muscles 
begin to lose their vigor when they are 
called too frequently into play; to speak 
technically, the man becomes stale. As soon 
as any symptom of this flabbiness becomes 
apparent, the g-olf club should be discarded 
for some other weapon. 

Play another g-ame, then, for four or five 
weeks, and then* with about a fortnight to 
spare come back to golf and- you will find 
yourself assailed by a new access of vigor 
and keenness. From that time on until the 
final contest you may play steadily and 
often, but it is well not to exceed thirty-six 
holes a day, or five days a week; in fact, 
even that limit is rather liberal. Do not 
play too many matches in the meantime 
that you are particularly anxious to win, for 
that will use up a large part of your mental 
energy; and employ at least a third of the 
time in practicing, with single clubs, the 
strokes that you find most difficult. 
, If you follow this advice you will prob- 
ably find yourself in the best condition 
when the tournament begins. But that is 
not all you have to consider. It is abso- 
lutely necessary that your mind should 
also be clear and untroubled. There is no 
game in the world where the mental strain 



i82 Tournament Play. 

is so great. It begins with the first day of 
the tournament, and lasts throug-h every 
hole until the final stroke is played. In 
entering- the g*ame, therefore, you must 
make up your mind to two thing's: 

First of all, you must g-ive your opponent 
no possible chance throug-h any careless- 
ness on your part. However easy the 
match may seem, you must play your hard- 
est. Remember that you not only want to 
win, but you want to win easily, so that you 
use up as little of your store of energ-y as 
possible. That is where many players lose 
themselves in tournaments where there are 
several rounds of match play. They forg-et 
that one victory only leads to another con- 
test, and they often allow a much weaker 
opponent to bring* the match to a close finish, 
thus wearing- themselves out needlessly. 

In the second place, concentrate your 
attention upon the g-ame itself, and never 
think for a moment of the final result. 
This is the hardest task of all, but it must 
be accomplished if you desire to win. As 
soon as you beg-in to think of the possi- 
bility of defeat, you will become over-anx- 
ious, and you will lose your freedom of 
style. It may seem almost impossible for 
a player to divest himself entirely of all 
hopes and fears for the future. But it is a 



Tournament Play. 183 

faculty which comes readily with practice 
in tournament play. Some acquire it more 
quickly than others. There are several 
cases in the history of g-olf championships 
of victories won by very young- men. Mr. 
P. C. Anderson and Mr. Allen were both of 
tender g-olfing* years when they defeated all 
the other amateurs of Great Britain. It is 
seldom, however, that the necessary confi- 
dence and concentration come to a man 
until he has had several years of experience 
in big matches, and that is why there are 
probably more first-class players over the 
age of thirty than there are below it. 

There are other habits which even the 
youngest player may possess, with the ex- 
ercise of a little intelligence. There is a 
strong tendency among American players 
of the first rank in the direction of extreme 
caution and deliberation in tournament 
play. It requires no argument to prove 
that slowness is for every reason a thing to 
be discouraged for the sake of the general 
welfare. But apart from the good of your 
fellow-creatures, you have your own chances 
of success to consider, and you are assur- 
edly waging war upon yourself if you get 
beyond a certain point in exercising care. 
The fault arises not from your caution in 



184 Tournament Play. 

match play, but more probably from a want 
of speed and freedom in ordinary practice. 

There is nothing- which retards a man's 
improvement in the g-ame so much as a 
lack of freedom. It is a matter of common 
observation that even a good g-olfer holes 
his short puts with far g-reater accuracy 
when he is not trying* than when he has the 
strain of an important match upon him. 
In the same way the indifferent player 
swing's more freely at a daisy than at a ball. 
Now, if you cramp yourself by excess of 
care in an ordinary g-ame, as so many young- 
players do, how much more will you check 
your natural impulses in a tournament! 
Therefore if you have the main end in 
view, you will prefer to play quickly and 
swing freely, even to the verge of careless- 
ness in your every-day round, so that when 
the occasion does really call for deliberation 
you will be able to put a certain restraint 
upon }^ourself without entirely losing your 
freedom. 

It is an extraordinary fact that a small 
and inconsiderable gutta percha ball has the 
most paralyzing effect upon the minds and 
muscles of sane and healthy men, causing 
them to tremble and grow rigid before it. 
This unnatural, yet universal, obsession can 
only be overcome by constant practice. 



Tournament Play. 185 

You must learn to rid yourself of this ter- 
ror by pretending- to disreg-ard it. Go up 
to the ball and hit it just as if you were not 
in the least afraid of it. Assume a freedom 
of manner, even if it belies your feelings, 
and in time you will break down the influ- 
ence of the bug-bear to such an extent that 
even in an important match you will bear 
yourself with courag-e and indifference. 

You must be careful, on the other 
hand, not to overdo the quickness of your 
play in practice. That is to say, you may 
swing- freely and address your ball, espe- 
cially on the putting- green, with speed and 
decision ; but do not get too much into the 
habit of racing around the links, because if 
you do you will find the waiting which is a 
necessary part of tournament play, excess- 
ively irksome. Even with the best ar- 
rangements, the progress of the various 
couples in a large competition must be 
somewhat slow, and if you have not inured 
yourself to the tedium of long waits, such 
as you may suffer any day at the high hole 
at St. Andrews, or on any teeing ground 
at North Berwick, you will find yourself 
the victim of much inward irritation. 

Of two contradictories, therefore, in spite 
of the logic books, you must choose both. 
In practice, accustom yourself to playing 



1 86 Summary. 

quickly and freely. Learn also in practice 
to play slowly. As a result you will be able 
on g-reat occasions to add something- of 
caution to your g^ame, without suffering- 
from what has been well termed ball shy- 
ness ; and you will also be in a position to 
wait for a slow couple in front, or for the 
many deliberations of your opponent, with- 
out losing- that equanimity which is in- 
dispensable to success. 

Summary. To sum up, then, I should advise 
every g-olfer to live a healthy life. There- 
after it is unnecessary to chang-e in any 
way your habits of existence with a view to 
success in a competition. 

Do not play too much, and above all, do 
not reach the top of your g-ame too soon. 

Learn to concentrate your attention 
upon each stroke, and not upon the g-eneral 
result. 

Finally, practice the utmost freedom of 
swing- and address in ordinary play, so that 
you may exercise deliberation in competi- 
tion, without becoming- abnormally slow. 
But do not accustom yourself so much to 
rapidity that the waits in a tournament 
affect your nerves. 



CHAPTER VII. 

THE MAKING OF A NEW COURSE. 

WHEN the number of Scotchmen who 
have crossed the Atlantic is fully 
considered, it is rather surprising* that the 
royal and ancient g'ame should have been 
imported so recentl}^ as 1890 or thereabouts. 
It was really two years later that a genuine 
interest in g-olf was aroused by the org-aniz- 
ing of clubs for the purpose of its propa- 
g-ation; and the United States Golf Associa- 
tion has only been in existence for three 
seasons. 

Once started, however, the devotion to 
the game became almost a craze. At the 
time of writing nearly a hundred clubs 
have joined the association, and the num- 
ber will in all probability be doubled in the 
course of the next twelve months. To an 
Englishman, who, in the last decade, has 
seen innumerable golf courses spring up 
like mushrooms over every county in Great 
Britain, the membership of the association 
may appear disappointingly small. But 
when it is remembered that it is as easy, 

187 



1 88 Difficulties to be Overcome. 

from a financial point of view, to form a hun- 
dred clubs in Eng-land as it is to place one 
on a firm basis in America, the strides made 
by the association in the short period of 
three years must betaken to indicate a love 
of the pastime which far exceeds the ordi- 
nary short lived boom so often accorded to 
any new fad in this country. 
The Difficulties The difficulties of securing- 
to be Overcome, a suitable course, and of main- 
taining' it when secured, can hardly be 
realized .by any one who has been accus- 
tomed to find g-olf links ready made along- 
the coast of Great Britain. Since most 
courses in America are of necessity in- 
land, and since the very best soil can only 
yield the requisite quality of turf, the land 
which is boug-ht by an incipient g-olf club, 
instead of being practically worthless for 
any other purpose, as is so often the case in 
Scotland, has a very hig-h value as farming- 
property. In the second place, the business 
instincts of the averag-e American make it 
incumbent upon him to seek his amusement 
within a thirty-mile radius of his down-town 
office; and, as every one knows, vacant lots 
within such a radius of any larg-e city are 
ruinously expensive. And so it is no un- 
common thing- for a g-olf club to pay down 
$50,000 in hard cash before a ball is struck. 



Necessary Expenditure. 189 

And that is only the beginning*. You may get 
two hundred acres of fine old pasture, per- 
fectly drained and full of natural hazards. 
You are far more likely to find the drainage 
conspicuous by its absence, the difficulties 
and obstacles of a kind that have to be re- 
moved at a considerable cost, the grass defi- 
cient both in quantity and quality. On inland 
courses you generally have to sod your put- 
ting greens, you certainly have to cut your 
bunkers, and you are fortunate if you do 
not find it necessary to root out a hundred 
acres of virgin forest. Even so, the battle 
is but half over. A steam roller must be 
purchased to remedy the effects of a severe 
winter's frost, and in the west, at least, a 
water system which will cost you upwards 
of $5,000 under the most favorable circum- 
stances, is absolutely essential to the proper 
enjoyment of the game. Add to this the 
minor fact that in the summer months you 
will probably run over the entire course 
with close cutting mowing machines, and 
you will have some conception of what it 
costs to purchase and keep links in America 
in first-rate condition. 

Necessary By this enumeration of ex- 

Expenditure, penses I do not mean to strike 
terror into the hearts of any struggling 
green committee who would disband at 



igo Advantages of a Good House. 

once if such a sum as $100,000, or even a 
tenth part of it, were declared to be the 
minimum basis of calculations. If your 
aims are modest, you may start your golf- 
ing- career on a much smaller capital; you 
may lay out a nine-hole course to beg-in 
with, and be content to make your improve- 
ments very slowly. My intention is simply 
to point out that unless you are very favor- 
ably situated, as you mig-ht be, for instance, 
on Long- Island, where the soil is sandy and 
bunkers are natural, you cannot get an 
eig-hteen-hole course into first-class condi- 
tion in the short space of two or three 
years, and at the same time build and main- 
tain a suitable club house without an outlay 
which will involve the expenditure of a sum 
very little short of $100,000. 
The Advantages The club house, it may be 
of a Good House, remarked in passing, is a very 
necessary part of the scheme; for in 
order to get the required list of members 
it is necessary before anything else to sup- 
ply those ordinary comforts and luxuries 
which will make up to the influential mem- 
ber for the tribulation that he goes through 
in trying to learn a game which he has not 
yet begun to love for its own sake. The 
history of golf clubs in this country is a 
constant repetition of the same story in 



Advantages of a Good House. 191 

that respect. The club is generally started 
by the enthusiastic few who want to play 
the g-ame. In order to attain their ends 
they inveig-le a number of their companions 
into subscribing- for the purchase of the 
house and g-round. There is no question 
about the loyalty of these laymen if they 
can only be induced to g-ive the g-ame a fair 
trial. But there is always a period of trep- 
idation when they have learned to com- 
plain to the house committee, but have not 
yet become interested in their scores to 
the exclusion of every other interest in life. 

Somewhere in his philosophical writing-s 
Mr. Punch tells a young- wife that the best 
way to deal with a husband is simply to 
feed the brute. I would not go so far as 
that in plainness of speech, but I do con- 
sider it most important for the welfare of a 
new golf club, that those members whose 
subscriptions are desirable and whose golf- 
ing enthusiasm is not yet fully developed, 
should be brought into the fold by a nice 
regard for their personal comforts. 

Taking everything into consideration, 
then, I hardly think that I have overesti- 
mated the sum which a new club must 
spend before it possesses a first-class 
course. Whether that sum should be spent 
at once, or spread over a number of years, 



192 The Scarcity of Good Courses. 

is entirely a matter for the committee upon 
ways and means to decide. The main 
thing* to be desired is that the members of 
the club should not shut their eyes to the 
facts of the case. For if they are mis- 
led into thinking- that they can obtain the 
required results in a less expensive way, 
they are not only deceiving- themselves, 
but they will probably waste alarg-e amount 
of money in half measures. Work slowly 
if you will, but always keep the main end in 
view, so that whatever improvements you 
do decide upon may have a permanent 
value. 

The Scarcity The enormous cost of making- 
of Good and maintaining* a fine course in 

Courses. America is probably accounta- 

ble for the fact that g-ood courses are very 
few and far between. There is, perhaps, 
another reason; and that is the fact that 
country clubs were in existence before g-olf 
was ever mentioned, and when the new pas- 
time was introduced the country clubs had 
to make the best of the property at hand, 
instead of looking* for the most suitable nat- 
ural location. Shinnecock Hills is one of 
the few sites for a g*olf club which seems to 
have been chosen with an eye to the best 
possibilities of the g*ame. Other spots have 
been selected either because they were 



The Scarcity of Good Courses, 193 

close to already existing- clubs, or because 
they were within easy reach of the great 
cities. As a result there is not a single 
course in America which really compares 
with the best links in Great Britain. And 
the sooner we acknowledge that fact the 
better it will be for the game in this coun- 
try. Where we generally make a mistake 
is in believing that an inland course can 
ever be made the equal of a North Berwick 
or St. Andrews. Not that I would in any 
way detract from the praise due to the skill 
and energy which have been displayed in the 
laying out of some of our best links. Here, 
at all events, we have one of the important 
features of the development of golf on this 
side of the Atlantic. In Great Britain there 
is no such thing as an inland course which 
in any way approaches perfection, the rea- 
son being that there are so many seaside 
links within easy reach that the improve- 
ment of those situated away from the sea is 
hardly worth the expense. 

Here we certainly have inland courses 
which infinitely surpass anything of the 
same nature in Great Britain, and — what is 
far more to the point — really present a first- 
class test of golf. Visitors to America from 
the home of golf in Scotland have often ex- 
pressed surprise at the wonderful way in 



194 Inferiority of Inland Courses. 

which natural difficulties have been overN 
come. And since most of our courses must 
of necessity be removed from the sea, it is 
most gratifying to observe the great im- 
provement w^hich has taken place in a very 
short space of time. But, nevertheless, it 
is necessary to keep the ideal constantly in 
view, and to remember that with the best 
intentions in the world we still fall very far 
short of perfection. 

The Inferior- There are two respects in 
ity of Inland which inland courses must al- 
Courses. ways, humanly speaking, fall 

short of the natural seaside links, and 
especially those which, like Prestwick, 
Sandwich and Machrihanish — to name 
only three out of a very large number — 
have been singularly favored by Provi- 
dence. The turf on the inland course may 
be as good as possible, but it will never 
yield that fine quality of putting which 
makes the short game on the great courses 
so interesting. Seaside grass is a thing en- 
tirely sui generis \ it is the only grass which 
presents that smooth billiard table surface, 
so familiar to old golfers. On inland put- 
ting greens the turf may be so excellent 
that there is never any excuse for missing 
a put of two yards; but the ball travels in 
a different way ; it never trickles from the 



Inferiority of Inland Courses. 195 

club into the hole as the ivory trickles into 
the pocket of a billiard table. And that is 
where the real science of putting* is exhib- 
ited. The man who is accustomed to play 
on well kept inland putting g*reens is sure 
to find himself hopelessly at sea when he 
comes to play over the genuine g-olfing turf, 
where the ball must be struck with the 
most delicate touch. 

Secondly, it is practically impossible to 
reproduce by artificial means the g-reat 
sand bunkers which are peculiar to the 
coast of Great Britain. It is just conceiv- 
able that such bunkers might be con- 
structed inland, but the expense would be 
so enormous that the possibility may well 
be ignored. And so the awe inspiring effect 
of a large sand bunker stretching- for a hun- 
dred yards or more in front of the tee, and 
rising very often to the height of an ordi- 
nary house, is unknown to those who play 
only on inland courses, where bunkers are 
nothing but inconsiderable trenches, very 
ruinous, perhaps, to a score, but quite de- 
void of any power to destroy the nerve of 
the poorest player. 

I have often heard complaints made 
against the number of bunkers upon our 
best courses; and yet the fact is that there 
is not a sing-le course in this country which 



196 Inferiority of Inland Courses. 

has one-third of the number of sand bunkers 
which may be encountered at St. Andrews, 
and not one whose bunkers piled all 
tog-ether would make a hazard of the dimen- 
sions of *'the Maiden" at Sandwich or the 
'^ Himalayas" at Prestwick. 

For that reason it will be readily under- 
stood that there is less distinction here be- 
tween a first-class and a second-class player 
than in Great Britain; for the character of 
the courses is such that innumerable drives 
may be missed without any serious penalty. 
Even where there are reg^ular bunkers in 
front of the tee, they are so small that they 
only catch a few out of the many bad shots 
which are played. It may be arg-ued, of 
course, that the same remark applies to St. 
Andrews, where it is possible to top at least 
twelve out of your eig-hteen tee shots and 
yet g-o unscathed. But then, St. Andrews 
is perhaps the only first-class course where 
such a state of thing's exists, and there are 
so many compensations in the shape of 
scattered bunkers throug-h the course, and 
the holes are laid out so perfectly in the 
matter of distance, that the one failing* is 
not so serious as it mig-ht be. 
The Remedies. There are two ways of getting 
over the bunker difficulty on inland courses; 
neither of them is altogether satisfactory, 



Dealing with Inland Courses. 197 

but both may be employed with advantag-e. 
To begin with, whether your bunkers are 
large enough or not, it is always well to ar- 
range your holes at such distances apart 
that a bad drive will be of necessity pun- 
ished, whether it lands the ball in a hazard 
or not. Secondly, it is always possible, in 
summer, at least, to let the grass grow for 
about a hundred yards in front of the tee, 
so that a topped ball cannot run very far, 
and the second shot will in all likelihood be 
spoiled. The only objection to this plan is 
that it becomes monotonous, and also tends 
to a great loss of balls. If it has to be re- 
sorted to, the grass should be kept care- 
fully cut to such an extent that the ball 
cannot very well run through it for any 
distance, and yet will not be entirely con- 
cealed from view. For every other reason 
except to punish bad driving, long grass is 
a thing to be strenuously avoided in the fair 
course. It is a certain cause for the loss of 
valuable guttapercha, and therefore for the 
wasting of much more valuable time. 
Method of Having once settled the ques- 

Dealing with tion of the inferiority of all inland 
Inland courses, we may proceed to the 

Courses. discussion of the means toward 
producing the best results with the ma- 
terial at hand. 



igS Choice of Property. 

Choice of Beg-in by selecting- the best 

Property. soil that is available. Lig-ht, 
sandy soil is the best for the purpose, be- 
cause it dries easily after rain, and yet does 
not bake to the consistency of iron in hot 
weather. A clay soil is strong-ly to be 
avoided. If you cannot g-et sand, search 
for rich loam, w^hich is not so desirable 
either in droug-ht or in rain, but yet affords 
a fine deep sod. If possible g-et a piece of 
property devoid of trees. One of the con- 
stant incumbrances upon American courses 
is to be found in the shape of v^oodland. 
The desire to obtain picturesque surround- 
ing-s has g-enerally overruled more utilita- 
rian motives, and so a budding- golf club 
often invests in real estate which is quite 
unfit for the exercise of the game without 
an enormous expenditure of capital. 
Removal of When you have bought your 
Obstacles. land, which should be as undulat- 
ing as possible, without being mountainous, 
proceed to lay out the best course that the 
lie of the ground permits, irrespective of a 
building site for your club house or the 
picturesque grouping of woods. Then go 
to work ruthlessly and root out every tree 
which interferes in the most remote degree 
with your course. Remember that the 
course should be nearly seventy-five yards 



The Location of Holes. 199 

wide at all points, and that there should not 
be a single tree of any description upon it. 
You will have to come to this state of thing's 
sooner or later ; so you may just as well 
harden your heart at the beg-inning*. You 
will probably encounter a g-ood deal of 
antag-onism from artistic souls, and will 
have to enjoy the reputation of utter vandal- 
ism; but that need not trouble you greatly. 
Your reward will come when the course is 
in a finished state, and in the meantime 
any one who desires to indulg-e in amateur 
forestry can retire to some reg-ion which 
not been devoted to the ends of gfolf. 
The Location In laying- out your holes do not 
of Holes. be bound down by any cast iron 

rule. The distances on the best courses 
abroad have not been decided by reg-ula- 
tion, but by the natural fitness of thing-s. 
Of course, if your property consists simply 
of an expanse of more or less level pasture 
— and that is, perhaps, the most promising- 
material to work upon — you can arrang-e 
the leng-th of your holes to suit yourself. 
But in most cases there will be one or two 
special features which should be utilized in 
order to make picturesque holes, such as 
may differentiate your course from any 
other. It is not a bad plan to select your 
short hole first. The most perfect kind of 



200 The Location of Holes. 

short hole is one which requires an iron 
shot on to a g-reen where the flag- is full in 
view, with a yawning- hazard which stretches 
from the tee rig-ht up to the edg-e of the 
putting- g-reen. You will probably find such 
a hazard, or the opportunity for one, some- 
where on your property, and you should 
choose that for one at least of your short 
holes. And then as a general rule look out 
for hig-h spots and locate your putting- g-r eens 
there. A links is made particularly interest- 
ing- where you have the flag- plainly visible 
from the teeing- ground. There should be 
few, if any, blind holes upon a g-ood course. 
Moreover, one advantag-e of having- putting- 
greens upon the high places is the fact that 
some of your teeing grounds will also of 
necessity be on eminences commanding a 
view of the entire ground over which you 
have to play. There is nothing prettier in 
golf than the play from a teeing ground on 
the top of a hill, with a large bunker im- 
mediately in front. If, therefore, your 
property possesses any special features of 
this kind, do not fail to make use of them 
even if you have on that account to depart 
from the actual distances sanctioned by 
custom. Wherever your putting greens 
are not clearly determined for you by 
nature, you should have the ideal course 



The Distances. 2OI 

constantly in view, and althoug-h you may 
show a certain individuality in striving- 
after it, its services as a roug-h basis are 
invaluable. 

The Distances. The nearest approach to per- 
fection in the matter of distances was made 
by the orig-inal founders of the St. Andrews 
links in Scotland. A plan of the course, 
with the correct distances, will be found at 
the end of this chapter; there are also dia- 
grams of Prestwick and North Berwick, 
with the distances as nearly correct as is 
possible, in view of the fact that the teeing* 
grounds vary considerably. Study St. 
Andrews carefully, and you will discover 
that the holes are so distributed as to de- 
mand skill in every conceivable kind of 
stroke, and also to do away as far as pos- 
sible with the element of luck. 
St. Andrews. First of all, there are two short 
holes which vary, according to weather, 
between a full cleek shot and a half iron. 
Secondly, there are two holes, the ninth and 
the tenth, where the drive need only be fol- 
lowed by a very short approach. More than 
two such holes on an eighteen-hole course 
must be avoided, because they allow the 
player to miss his drive very badly without 
any punishment whatsoever. It is rather 
a mistake to have holes of such a distance 



202 St. Andrews. 

that a missed drive may be redeemed by a 
fine brassey shot; but it is a great deal 
worse when the difference beween a g-ood 
and a bad drive only entails the difference 
between a long iron approach and a short 
one. Still, two holes of the objectionable 
length — from twQhundredto three hundred 
yards — are perfectly admissible in a full 
eighteen-hole course, provided that the other 
distances are good. Now, at St. Andrews 
there are two five-hundred-yard holes, two 
of four hundred, and ten between four hun- 
dred and three hundred. The long holes 
require two long drives and an approach, or 
three fair drives, the two of four hundred 
call for two very long shots with a wooden 
club, and the rest may be reached in two 
shots which vary between two full drives 
and a drive followed by a half iron shot. 
In every case, with the exception of the 
ninth and tenth holes already alluded to, 
the tee shot must be clean hit — not because 
there is a bunker to be negotiated, but be- 
cause even a slight error will make it very 
hard, if not impossible, to reach the putting 
green with the second shot. It requires no 
extended argument to show that this is one 
of the most important points to bear in 
mind when laying out a new course; for it 
creates at once a wide distinction between 



St. Andrews. 203 

the first-class and the second-class player. 
Do not imag-ine, however, that your holes 
must really be of such a uniform character 
as this description might seem at first sight 
to imply. Although there are fourteen holes 
at St. Andrews which under ordinary cir- 
cumstances may be reached in two strokes, 
and cannot be reached in less, the second 
stroke is probably a different one in every 
case. It may either be a very long shot 
with a wooden club or a full cleek shot, or a 
full iron or a half shot. There are other 
ways, moreover, of varying the monotony 
by the arrangement of bunkers, and the 
situation of the putting greens. The sec- 
ond shot may have to be of the high or 
lofted variety so as to carry a bunker close 
to the hole, or it may be more advisable to 
play a running shot when there is no ob- 
stacle in the direct line, and the putting 
green is of such a nature as to make a lofted 
shot almost impossible. Such is the case 
very often at North Berwick, where the hole 
is situated upon a hard plateau so that a 
ball pitched right on to the green is certain 
to run past the hole. 

This, then, is the first principle to 
observe in selecting distances: Place your 
holes so far apart that, with only one or 



204 Other Courses. 

two exceptions, they can be reached in 
one, two or three full shots. As you will 
see by the diag'ram and figures, there are 
two holes at St. Andrews which may be 
reached easily in one stroke, two which 
may be reached in one and a little more; 
twelve that require two g-ood shots, and two 
that can only be reached by the averag'e 
g-ood player in three ; and after all, you can- 
not improve upon that as a basis for imita- 
tion. 

Other Courses. Prestwick not being- laid out 
as St. Andrews is, with parallel courses out 
and in, has a different arrang-ement. There 
is only one short hole — the second — of the 
regulation type. The fifth and the seventh 
are both short in the sense that they can be 
reached in one stroke, but on calm days 
they call for the use of a wooden club. 
There are two holes of the objectionable 
leng-th, the sixteenth and the eig-hteenth, 
both of which need only a drive and a very 
short approach. But there is this to be 
said in their favor, that a really long- driver 
may g-et within putting- distance off the tee, 
and in the case of the sixteenth, there are 
several bunkers to be avoided, so that a 
g-ood drive is really very necessary. A 
course of this nature has not the uniform 



Other Courses. 205 

perfection of St. Andrews, for its three 
short holes occur on the outward journey, 
making the first half round easier than the 
second. On the other hand, there is this 
objection to the St. Andrews course, that 
the short, easy holes come in succession in- 
stead of being- dispersed over the round. 
Sandwich is rather like Prestwick, 
except that the hazards are even more for- 
midable. There are two short holes in the 
first half round which may be reached in one 
stroke. These are the sixth and the eighth 
— perhaps the best short holes in existence 
except for the fact that they are both blind 
holes. The eighth hole resembles the fifth 
at Prestwick in that it usually entails the 
use of a driver to surmount the tremendous 
bunker, which is well named Hades. Be- 
sides these short holes there are two, the 
third and the fifth, which may very nearly 
be reached in one good drive, and the sec- 
ond only requires a short approach ; so that 
the outward journey is comparatively easy 
from the point of view of distance. The 
length of the carries, however, makes up 
for the deficiency in the total distance, and 
only very excellent play will account for a 
score below forty for the first nine holes. 
In the second half round there are two easy 



2o6 Other Courses. 

holes, the eleventh and the sixteenth, but 
the rest are long* enough to balance the 
shortness of the first nine, and it is almost 
as easy to g-o below forty for the first half 
round as it is to improve upon forty-five 
for the second. 

It is better, perhaps, if possible, to dis- 
tribute your distances evenly betw^een the 
two half rounds, but the natural lie of the 
g-round must be considered as well, and I 
doubt very much whether the present 
course at Sandwich could be improved upon 
anywhere in the world. The turf upon some 
of the courses in the west of Scotland is 
better, and the distances at St. Andrews 
are more perfect. But there is something- 
about the enormous hazards and the con- 
stant variety of the g-reat South of Eng-land 
course which makes it a source of infinite 
joy to the g-ood player, even if it is less 
popular among- the weaker brethren. 

In laying- out an eig-hteen-hole course 
you may imitate any one of these three 
links with advantage. For a nine-hole 
course, take St. Andrews and copy either 
the outward or the inward holes ; there is 
very little difference between them in point 
of length; only you will have to alter the 
arrangement of your holes so as not to have 
the three shortest in succession. 



Improvement of the Ground. 207 

The Improve^ When once your distances are 
mentofthe settled, you may set to work 
Ground. upon the ground itself. 

Hazards may be inserted at any time, 
and it is rather a mistake to cut up the 
ground hurriedly before you know exactly 
where your bunkers are required. 
Rolling. Your first object should be to get 
the turf all through the course in perfect 
condition. If your land has been lying fal- 
low for several years, your grass is proba- 
bly sufficiently strong to stand a heavy 
steam roller. You will find it less expens- 
ive to invest in the machine at once rather 
than waste time and money in working with 
a horse roller, which, in wet weather, does 
almost as much harm as it does good. Sea- 
side courses and those which are situated 
in temperate climates, hardly require such 
drastic treatment. But on most of the in- 
land courses of America which suffer from 
the severe frosts in winter, a steam roller 
will be found invaluable. From three to 
five tons is the best weight, and the width 
of the roller should be as great as possible. 
Roll the whole course as soon as the frost 
is fairly out of the ground, but beware 
against repeating the process too often. 
One good rolling in the spring ought to last 
a whole season. 



2o8 Grass Cutting. 

Grass Cutting. As soon as your grass begins 
to grow you will find it impossible to keep 
it under control, if your soil is at all rich, 
without the help of a mowing machine. 
Most courses must be shaved close at least 
once a week during the early summer 
months, and that entails a considerable 
amount of labor. But there is no other 
way of meeting the difficulty. Of all 
faults in a links there is none more aggra- 
vating and more conducive to the ruin of 
the game than long grass in the regular 
course. It is only excusable in front of the 
tee to punish a topped drive, and even there 
it should be kept short enough to avoid a 
waste of time in looking for balls. Sheep 
are often recommended for the purpose of 
keeping the grass down ; but no quantity 
of them will have a visible effect on an in- 
land course in June, provided that your 
grass is in a healthy condition. And sheep 
are such a nuisance in other ways that it is 
better to give them up entirely, and rely 
upon your lawn mowers. Possibly you may 
lose thereby in the matter of revenue, but 
it must always be remembered that golf 
and husbandry are distinct pursuits. 
The Putting If your turf must be in perfect 
Greens. condition through the ordinary 

course, much more must your putting 



Mowing Machines. 209 

greens be flawless. If possible they should 
be made out of the original sod, with all the 
natural undulations intact. In many cases, 
however, it is necessary to relay them with 
fresh turf; and if that is done, great care 
should be exercised in order that they may 
not be absolutely flat and square. Noth- 
ing* adds so much to the enjoyment of the 
g-ame as a certain variety in the shape and 
contour of the different greens. Some 
should be on high ground, others in hol- 
lows. A few should be on the side of hills, 
provided that the slope is very gentle; an 
occasional plateau may be selected, but in 
that case the green should not be too small. 
In size they should vary, but they should 
never have a radius of less than forty feet. 
Mowing The excellence of your put- 

Machines, ting greens depends, to a large 
extent, upon the kind of mowing machine 
you possess. The ordinary Philadelphia 
lawn mower of common use does not cut 
the grass close enough for golfing purposes, 
and so it is necessary to have a special ma- 
chine made, with the same width of blade 
but with smaller wheels, so that the knife 
may be brought closer to the ground. This 
slight change in the implement will make 
all the difference between good and bad put-* 
ting greens. 



2IO Water. 

Water. Finally, you must have a water sup- 
ply available at each g-reen. The actual 
amount of w^ater to be used varies, of course, 
with the differences in climate. But there 
are very few parts of the United States 
where nature's water supply may not be 
supplemented with considerable advantage, 
and there are a g-reat many reg-ions where 
golf is out of the question on any other 
terms. 

In making your plans for a complete 
water system, there is only one thing to re- 
member. Green committees are apt to take 
an average rainfall as their basis, and imag- 
ine that four inches a month — which would 
be a large allowance from heaven in any 
climate — is more than sufficient when sup- 
plied by artificial means. One inch a week 
would certainly be ample for the purpose if 
it were distributed in cloudy weather, just 
as nature gives her moisture. But an arti- 
ficial supply is only needed in warm, dry 
weather, when the evaporation is tremen- 
dous. Consequently, what would be accept- 
able from nature will not nearly answer the 
purpose when it comes from a well. 

What you actually need depends entirely 
upon your climatic conditions. But it may 
be useful to point out that on courses in the 



Water. 2 1 1 

west it is not at all too liberal to calculate 
upon a basis of half an inch a day during 
July and August. That, of course, is for 
the putting greens alone. Generally speak- 
ing, no attempt is made to water the whole 
course. And yet there is no reason why 
even this task should not be undertaken in 
regions where golf is almost entirely ruined 
by the drought of the western summer. 
Granted that your water system is ade- 
quate for the purpose of keeping your put- 
ting greens in good condition, it would re- 
quire no great expenditure to increase the 
supply and so be in a position to sprinkle 
your whole course once or even twice a 
week. Of course the sprinkling must be a 
thorough one, to have the desired effect, but 
there are numberless courses west of the 
Alleghanies which would be improved five 
hundred per cent in the hot weather by the 
outlay. In fact, an entirely satisfactory 
water system would make the whole differ- 
ence between playing golf and playing some 
other inferior game. 

I do not imagine that there is any course 
in the east which requires this hydrogenic 
treatment; yet even there a good supply 
of water can do no harm, and will very 
often prove enormously beneficial. 



2 12 Hazards. 

Hazards. It only remains to speak of the 
various hazards which may be inserted in a 
course when the turf has been put in per- 
fect condition. Once more let me repeat 
that all obstructions, such as trees, ditches, 
boulders and quarries, so often spoken of 
with pride as natural hazards, should at all 
costs be removed. The ideal way to g-o about 
making- an inland links is to g*et, first of all, 
about two hundred acres of undulating- pas- 
ture land without a sing-le obstruction or ex- 
crescence of any sort. There is, as a matter 
of fact, no such thing- as a natural hazard 
upon an inland course, unless it be a stream 
or a pond of water. Having- g-ot your wide 
stretch of turf, which should be as smooth 
as velvet in every part, you may then put 
in all the sand bunkers you require; for 
sand bunkers are the only hazards, with 
the exception of water, which should be 
allowed under any circumstances. Long- 
g-rass may g-row off the course to punish 
wild driving-, and in some cases it may be 
left, as explained above, in front of the tee. 
In cutting- your bunkers do not be afraid 
to make them larg-e and varied in shape. 
Most inland g-reens are spoiled by the fact 
that the hazards are not big- enoug-h to catch 
all the missed balls which g-o in their direc- 



Hazards. 213 

tion. Do not forg*et, moreover, that in 
many cases the hazard should stretch from 
the edg-e of the teeing* g-round to a distance 
of a hundred yards or more, so that a 
missed drive must positively bring- its pun- 
ishment. A bunker is very little g"ood un- 
less it is thirty feet wide, or is g-uarded by 
a hig-h face. Whenever you see a ball jump 
a bunker which lies across the line of fire, 
you may take note of it, and if the same 
accident repeats itself often, you should set 
to work at once and widen your bunker. 
In making- your hazards it is best to choose 
spots which are naturally suited to the 
purpose, such as hoUow^s in the g-round or 
hillsides; a reg-ular line of cops set down on 
a flat surface present the appearance of 
military earthworks and add neither to the 
beauty of the landscape nor the variety of 
the g-ame. 

In g-uarding- your putting- g-reens, do not 
always put a straig-ht bunker right in front 
of the man who is approaching*. Some 
g-reens should be protected in that way, 
others should be between hazards, a few 
should be entirely surrounded, and hardly 
any should be absolutely free. It is a g-ood 
plan also to have at least one or two holes 
where the bunkers are so close that the 



2 14 Hazards. 

approach must be played with a certain 
amount of back spin. On most American 
courses the greens are either so small and 
keen that no mortal man can pitch his ball 
on them and keep it there, or else they are 
so larg-e and free from bunkers that the 
veriest duffer can loft on to them with ease. 
The happy medium has not yet been 
struck. Of course every g-reen should not 
be too closely g-uarded, but a few out of 
the eig-hteen should certainly call for a dis- 
play of skill in administering- back spin. 
And in order to bring* about this end, your 
greens must be keen. Provided that your 
water supply is adequate and your grass is 
strong it is quite impossible to make an in- 
land green too keen. As long as you keep 
your turf watered every night in warm 
weather, you may cut the grass as short as 
possible, and yet not make your putting and 
approaching too difficult. The expense of 
making bunkers on inland courses is natur- 
ally large. For that reason it is particu- 
larly desirable that you should go boldly to 
work at first upon your hazards and make 
them of a proper size. A bunker thirty 
feet wide will stop most topped balls, but 
that is practically the minimum. Many of 
them should be considerably larger. 

1 ■ 



Summary. 215 

Summary. These, then, are the main things 
to bear in mind, and I may repeat them 
shortly as follows: 

For the purpose of making- an eig-hteen- 
hole course, look out first for at least two 
hundred acres of the best pasture land, 
provided that you cannot g^et the g-enuine 
g-olf land by the sea. Avoid a clay soil. 

Make your course seventy-five yards 
wide at every hole and remove every tree, 
ditch and stone from its surface. 

Locate your putting* g-reens first with 
reg-ard to natural situation, and then model 
your distances upon the St. Andrews links 
in Scotland. Roll your course every spring-, 
and keep it close cut with mowing-machines 
in summer. Make your putting- g-reens as 
perfect as the abundant use of water and 
the mowing- machine will permit. 

Let all your hazards be sand bunkers, 
with the addition of a water hazard if nature 
supplies it. 

Make your bunkers larg-e and varied in 
shape — you cannot make them too larg-e — 
and g-uard all your putting- g-reens either 
on one or upon every side. 



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218 



CHAPTER VIIL 

DEVKLOPMENT OF THE GAME IN AMERICA. 

IF the courses on this side of the Atlantic 
fall far short of perfection, it must still 
be remembered that they are situated for 
the most part in regions where the averag'e 
Briton would have despaired of ever mak- 
ing- g-olf a possibility; and yet they do, in 
many cases, present a very fair test of the 
game. 

The Improve= And so the apotheosis of the 
ment of Inland inland course maybe regarded 
Courses. ^^ ^^^ ^j ^^^ great features of 

the development of golf in America up to 
the present time. The genius of the Amer- 
ican people is naturally inclined toward 
haste and impatience. That is why so 
many links in this country have been laid 
out in such a way that they will have to be 
entirely remodeled from the very beginning 
before they can rank in the first class. On 
the other hand, when the true idea ot the 
game is thoroughly grasped, there is no 
obstacle great enough to prevent speedy 
success in the perfecting of the unpromis- 

219 



220 The Governing Body. 

ing- material at hand. If New York and 
Chicag*o were suddenly transported to the 
desert of Arabia, I have not a doubt that 
they would in the space of twelve months be 
surrounded by a circle of excellent g-olf 
courses. You have, as a rule, merely to 
point out to an American Green Committee 
that a certain thing- is necessary, and you 
may count upon g-etting- it. And for that 
reason we have inland courses in America 
which come within measurable distance of 
some of the best seaside links. 
The Governing The org-anization of the g*ame 
Body. is also a peculiarity of its g-rowth 

in the States. Golf has been played in 
Scotland from time immemorial, and yet 
there has never been a g-overning* body 
which has had anything* more than a pre- 
scriptive right to control the national laws 
and practice of the g-ame. The committee 
of the Royal and Ancient Club at St. An- 
drews has g-radually assumed the reins of 
government, not from any desire to usurp 
authority, but simply because no other 
method of control seemed practicable. If 
there had been as many clubs in England 
twenty-five years ago as there were in 
Scotland, and if the interest in the game 
had been at all evenly distributed, there 
would have been no difficulty in instituting 



The Governing Body. 221 

some kind of n»ational administration. But 
as it was, there were few g-ood players in 
Great Britain who were not members of 
the Royal and Ancient Golf Club, and it 
would have been manifestly absurd, or at 
least very unnecessary, to sug-g-est that the 
St. Andrews committee was not perfectly 
competent to do all that was required in the 
way of government. 

Moreover, national associations have 
never been recog*nized as the ruling- princi- 
ple of Eng-lish sport. The g^overnment of 
the g-ame of g-olf having- been g-radually 
thrust upon the St. Andrews club, it g-rew 
more and more impossible to org-anize any 
national committee in the face of the con- 
servative element. The case of the Mary- 
lebone cricket club was cited to support the 
rule of a sing-le club as against the control 
of a national association. And so, in one 
way and another, the constitution of the 
game as it at present exists became crystal- 
lized. A step in the direction of a national 
committee was made some ten years ago 
when the Hoylake Club instituted the ama- 
teur championship tournament, but the 
time had gone by when the organization of 
such a committee upon democratic lines 
was possible. In the first place, only a few 
cfthe many clubs in the country were 



2 22 The Governing Body. 

represented; and secondly, the deleg'ates 
sent to choose the course for the decision 
of the next championship, were powerless 
to assume authority upon any other subject. 

And so, for better or for worse, the St. 
Andrews Club has become the M. C. C. of 
golf, and all hopes of a g-eneral committee 
seem at present exceedingly remote — ex- 
cept, indeed, on such terms as would rob 
the institution of half its value as a repre- 
sentative body. 

It must not be imagined for a moment 
by those who know golf only as it is played 
in America, that this apparently hap-hazard 
kind of government has been detrimental 
to the development of the game. There 
are two distinct sides to the question; and 
it may be asserted with great safety that 
the game would have suffered enormously 
in the past if the influence of St. Andrews 
had not been predominant. There is no 
game in the world which admits of so much 
ignorance upon the part of its players as 
golf. And if, ten or fifteen years ago, men 
who had only pursued the gutta percha in 
the wilds of Tooting-Bec or the Cowley 
marshes at Oxford had been allowed the 
same vote in the control of the game as the 
first-class players of St. Andrews, the re- 
sults would have been most disastrous. 



United States Golf Association. 223 

At the same time, g*olf has now reached a 
point in England and Scotland, where the 
mists of ig-norance have been widely dissi- 
pated, and the moment has arrived when 
the formation of a national association 
would in all probability be most beneficial. 
But in the meantime St. Andrews has the 
power, and why should she relinquish it? 
Philanthropic bimetallists are fond of ask- 
ing- England to abandon her gold standard. 
Those who make a similar request of St. 
Andrews find themselves in much the same 
predicament. Their theory is excellent, but 
what inducement have they got to offer? 
There is the dilemma; and we have to 
thank our stars of good fortune that we had 
no such difficulty to face when the game 
became popular in America. The idea of 
the national association had become fixed 
in the minds of all sportsmen in this coun- 
try by its success in other branches of ath- 
letics, and there was no traditional influence 
to overcome. 

The United On the other hand, there was 

States Golf a very serious danger that 
Association. American players, with their 
half digested notions of golf and their 
knowledge of most inferior courses, should 
go about to make some very radical changes 
in the rules and practice of the game. In 




THE LATE THEODORE A. HAVEMEYER 
First President U. S. G. A. 



324 



United States Golf Association. 225 

fact, a tendency in that direction was no- 
ticeable when a rule was made that a ball 
might be lifted and teed in match play as 
it may be in playing* a medal competition. 
Here at the outstart was a direct blow at 
the ruling- principle of match play — which 
is the real g-ame of golf — that the ball must 
be played wherever it lies, unless it be in 
water. The new rule has since been re- 
scinded, and no farther attempt has been 
made to alter the St. Andrews rules as they 
stand. 

The only reason why this danger has 
been averted is that a national association 
was formed before any havoc could be cre- 
ated, and a committee elected, composed of 
men who had the best interests of the game 
at heart. The first president was the late 
Theodore A. Havemeyer, of whose services 
to golf and to amateur sport in general it 
is hard to speak dispassionately. It is sel- 
dom that a man of affairs, whose adminis- 
trative powers have been developed in the 
control of a great corporation, is willing to 
devote a large share of his time and care to 
the interests of a game. When this admin- 
istrative ability is combined with the most 
lovable characteristics of a gentleman and 
a sportsman, it will be understood that the 



2 26 United States Golf Association. 

National Golf Association was extraordina- 
rily fortunate in the selection of its first 
president. By his recent death, every golf 
player in this country sustained a great and 
irreparable loss. But in the two years of 
his control he was able to place the g-overn- 
ing- body upon so firm and immovable a 
basis, and his influence was so strong* in 
preserving- the true spirit of the g-ame, that 
even his untimely departure could not spoil 
the complete value of his work. There is 
but little doubt that had a weaker hand been 
at the helm during- the young- days of the 
association, many radical chang-es might 
have been made in the rules which would 
have made a gulf between the American 
and British golfers, and in the end might 
have been found entirely unnecessary. As 
it is, nothing has been done which could 
offend the most conservative spirit, nor is 
any action likely to be taken in the future 
which will bring about a development of the 
game along divergent lines in the two coun- 
tries. 

It would be beyond the scope of the 
present work to dwell upon the merits of 
the men who, as members of the executive 
committee, assisted Mr. Havemeyer in his 
good work ; and yet one word must be said 




MR. H. O. TALLMADGE 
First Secretary U. S. G. A. 



227 



2 28 United States Golf Association. 

in passing- recog-nition of the services done 
to g-olf in this country by Mr. Charles B. 
Macdonald, whose energ-y of purpose and 
fine instinct for the best points in theg-ame 
have constituted him the arch-pioneer of 
golf in America; by Mr. Henry O. Tall- 
mad^e, the most indefatig-able of secreta- 
ries; by Mr. Laurence Curtis, whose clear 
judg-ment proved invaluable in preparing 
the new edition of the rules; and by Mr. Par- 
rish, who would certainly be elected treas- 
urer for life if he could only be induced to 
take the office. 

The attitude assumed by these men in 
the g-overnment of the association must 
have come in the way of a revelation to all 
British players, who are apt to have precon- 
ceived notions on the subject of American 
rashness and scorn for tradition. Not only 
has the spirit, but even the letter of the 
g-ame been preserved with the most scru- 
pulous care ; and yet at the same time new 
sug-g-estions have been admitted of such 
excellent propriety that even in the short 
space of three years American g-olf ers have 
been able to offer hints upon which the 
more inert and less org-anized body of play- 
ers in Great Britain will be compelled to 
act. 



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230 Championship Tournaments. 

TheChainpion= The conduct of the amateur 
shipTourna= championship meeting- was the 
meats. first instance of the advantage 

of bring-ing common sense to bear upon the 
subject. The system has still to underg-o 
a slight revision before it can be called per- 
fect, but the essential principles of the 
arrangement are incontrovertibly correct. 
The weeding-out process is so simple that 
when it is once suggested, one wonders 
why it w^as never introduced before. Not 
only is it absolutely fair to every one, but it 
requires that the champion shall show at 
least a certain skill in medal play, which, 
after all, is a department of the g-ame. In 
the second place, it will obviate in larg-e 
measure the luck of the draw. As things 
at present exist in Great Britain, a g-ood 
player may go through one or two rounds 
without the slig-htest exertion, if he is for- 
tunate in coming against weak opponents. 
Under the American system he has to work 
for his position from the drop of the flag*. 
He must play first-class g*olf for two rounds 
of medal play in order to qualify at all, and 
then he will have to meet in each round a 
foeman who is worthy of his steel ; for 
among- the first sixteen who earn the right 
to compete there can be very few who have 
not a g-ood chance of winning- outrig-ht. 



Championship Tournaments. 231 

At least one or two chang-es will in all 
probability shortly be made in the rules of 
the contest. In the first place, all the 
match play rounds will consist of thirty-six 
holes. Heretofore only eighteen holes were 
played, until the final round, and there was 
always a chance of a fluke victory ; when 
every match is decided by playing thirty- 
six holes, the element of luck is almost en- 
tirely eliminated. Secondly, it is proposed 
in future to draw the first eig*ht of the 
sixteen ag*ainst the second eig-ht for the 
first match play round, so that it will be 
impossible for a weak player to g"et into 
the finals; and also there will be a further 
inducement for the best players to return 
as good a card as possible. Upon this inno- 
vation I need not lay so much stress. It 
happens that at present in America there 
are not sixteen players of equal merit, 
and there is likely to be a difference of at 
least a third of a stroke a hole between 
the first and the last of the sixteen. In a 
year or two, however, the number of first- 
class players will have increased so enor- 
mously that it will be impossible to name 
one of the first sixteen who has not a g'ood 
chance of winning-, and so the division of 
the draw would be unnecessary. 

But g-ranted that the first of these im- 



232 Championship Tournaments. 

provements is determined upon, I cannot 
see how the arrang-ement of the contest 
can possibly be bettered. The tournament 
will last five days, however larg-e the entry 
may be ; all the bad players will be removed 
from the field after the first day; the win- 
ner must play five matches of thirty-six 
holes each, including- the preliminary medal 
round; there can be no possible chance of 
a lucky draw; and the man who finally be- 
comes champion will have earned the title 
by sheer superiority of skill and endurance. 
So much for the amateur championship. 
This means, of course, that the open event 
must be played on a separate occasion. So 
far that contest has been robbed of nearly 
all its interest by being- thrown in, as it were, 
at the end of the tournament, which is mani- 
festly hard upon the professionals, whose 
play, under the circumstances, attracts 
very little attention; and unfair to the ama- 
teurs, who cannot be expected to do them- 
selves justice after the wear and tear of 
their own competition. It is only rig-ht, 
moreover, to remark, in passing-, that 
American amateur form has been slig-htly 
discredited abroad for this very reason. In 
the championship tournament of 1897 the 
best amateur score was eleven strokes be- 
hind the winning- score of 163 made by 



The Rules. 233 

Lloyd; and it is argued by writers on the 
subject in England that the amateurs in 
America are therefore considerably behind 
amateurs in Britain on that account. The 
fact is undoubtedly true, but not to the ex- 
tent that the figures would show ; simply be- 
cause the amateurs in Americahave entered 
the open contest, up to the present time, 
merely as a matter of custom, without the 
slightest chance of displaying their best 
form. Lloyd's score of 163 w^as an exceed- 
ingly fine one, considering the length of the 
course; but it must be remembered that in 
the same week, under stress of greater 
heat, the first three returns for the Chicago 
cup w^ere 81, 82 and 83, the latter score be- 
ing made by Mr. J. A. Tyng, an American 
player of only three years' standing. To be 
perfectly just to the professionals, I would 
say that only one or two of them show any 
superiority whatever over the best ama- 
teur form, and that both amateurs and pro- 
fessionals are from three to four strokes 
behind their colleagues on the other side of 
the Atlantic. 

The Rules. To return from this digression, 
let us look for a moment at the question of 
the rules of the game. It is here that 
the American association has an enor- 
mous advantage over the governing body 



2^4 The Rules. 

at St. Andrews. With all possible respect 
and love for the Royal and Ancient home 
of the game, I am constrained to assert, 
having- the broad Atlantic between me and 
the niblicks of those who will g^ainsay me, 
that the various codes of rules sanc- 
tioned by the members of the club from 
time to time are monuments of judicial in- 
efficiency. The fact is that the ordinary 
Scotch player who has been born and bred 
in the atmosphere of the g-ame has no need 
of a written code at all. He plays the game 
by instinct and as the spirit guides him. 
That is precisely the reason why the old 
fashioned St. Andrews player was of neces- 
sity incompetent to draw up rules for the 
guidance of those who did not play by pre- 
cedent rather than precept. What might 
be abundantly clear to him, knowing the 
practice and tradition, would probably be 
most obscure to the Englishman and Amer- 
ican. That this is the case has been proved 
conclusively by the voluminous rulings and 
interpretations made by Messrs. Ruther- 
ford and Lockyer; and yet their work left 
an enormous field for discussion upon 
points which they did not even touch. Of 
course it is impossible to make the rules of 
the game absolutely sufficient for the pur- 
pose; but there is a wide gulf between such 



The Rules. 2^^ 

a state of perfection and the condition of 
thing's as they now exist. A careful study 
of the latest code of rules will convince any 
unprejudiced person that there are very 
few which, even to the experienced golfer, 
may not bear various meanings, and sev- 
eral which, if carried to their legitimate 
conclusion, are manifestly absurd. For- 
tunately the United States Golf Association 
has been able to issue a book of rulings and 
interpretations which does not altogether 
do away with the incongruities of the orig- 
inal code, but does at least settle a number 
of disputed points. In Great Britain this 
course was out of the question because ob- 
viously the Royal and Ancient club, having 
issued its edict, could not, without appear- 
ing ridiculous, publish an explanation of the 
same. Messrs. Rutherford and Lockyer's 
work might have been of some assistance, 
but it was without authority, and could not 
really be quoted in defense of any argu- 
ment. The United States Golf Association 
were very careful not to alter a single word 
in the text of the St. Andrews rules, and in 
this respect they acted very wisely. The 
interpretations in many cases answer the 
purpose of a new rule, and in the meantime 
we may hope for a new and better code 
from the committee which has recently 



236 The Hazard Rule. 

been appointed by the Royal and Ancient 
Golf Club. 

The Hazard A full discussion of the weak- 
Rule, nesses of the rules as they exist 
would be neither possible nor desirable at 
present. But one example may be taken as 
the text of a few remarks upon the subject. 
The hazard rule as it stands is the worst of 
all the St. Andrews regulations. It may, of 
course, be interpreted in such an extreme 
way as to make the game ridiculous. But 
even when taken in the broadest and most 
legitimate sense, its provisions are so unfair 
that here the interpretation of the executive 
committee is tantamount to a new rule. Ac- 
cording to the law as it stands by itself, any 
player who touches sand in a bunker while 
addressing the ball is disqualified in medal 
play. Consequently, supposing that a com- 
petitor for the amateur championship in 
America, or the open championship abroad, 
were blown over by a gust of wind while 
aiming at the ball, or should for any other 
reason rest his club inadvertently upon the 
sand, he would at once be removed from the 
contest. Such a rule defeats its own ends, 
because it is never, as a matter of fact, 
adhered to, especially in the case of bent 
and gorse. The interpretation made by the 
association is probably as satisfactory as 



The Hazard Rule. 237 

anything- could be under the circumstances. 
But why should not the rule be altered and 
made more simple? First of all, nothing- 
but sand or loose earth should be regarded 
as a hazard. That, of course, was the orig- 
inal intention of the rule. It is only in 
sand or loose earth that the player can 
possibly obtain any unfair advantage by 
g-rounding his club, or by moving loose 
obstacles. There is no possible reason why 
a loose stone should not be removed when 
the ball is lying in a gorse bush if it is 
allowable to remove one in the fair green. 
There is a very definite reason why a simi- 
lar obstacle should not be removed in a 
bunker; because it is impossible to say in 
many cases where stones become small 
enough to be considered part of the sand. 
But on a good links there should be no 
stones whatever in any hazard, so that the 
break club question need hardly arise. 

First of all, then, confine your hazards to 
sand and loose earth, and you will not only 
simplify matters, but you will be conform- 
ing in reality with the true spirit of the 
game. Secondly, make it a case for dis- 
qualification, or the loss of the hole, when a 
player deliberately removes anything* in a 
bunker within a given radius of his ball. If 
a man is foolish enough to break the rules 



238 The Hazard Rule. 

in a deliberate way, he deserves any punish- 
ment which may be meted out to him. But 
for g-rounding- the club unintentionally or 
intentionally behind the ball in the act of 
addressing- it the penalty of a stroke is quite 
sufficient. No one, however expert he may 
be, can calculate upon improving- the lie of 
his ball in addressing- it sufficiently to war- 
rant the loss of a stroke, and the rule about 
intentional removal of obstacles would still 
prevent him from deliberately scraping- 
away the sand with his club. 

A rule written on these lines would pro- 
vide ample punishment for carelessness, 
and it would also g-uard ag-ainst the success 
of those players — and there are a few of 
them — who are always anxious to take 
every inch of rope that the law will concede. 

This is only one case out of a g-reat many 
where it is easy to sug-g*est a g-ood rule 
where the founders of the code seem to have 
gone out of their way to make a bad one. 
Instances mig-ht be multiplied if necessary. 
My main object at present is to show what 
advantag-es may accrue from the g-overn- 
ment of an executive committee which is 
entirely national in its interests, which is 
not hampered by any uncertainty about its 
authority or any traditions of the past, and 
which, above all, is a thoroughly represen- 



Club Matches. 239 

tative body. The members of the execu- 
tive committee are chosen not with refer- 
ence to the club they represent, but on ac- 
count of their personal fitness. There is 
only one criticism to be made upon the con- 
stitution of the association, and that ap- 
plies to the distinction between allied and 
associate members, a distinction which 
seems to have no very g-ood raison d'etre^ 
and will in all probability be removed in the 
near future. 

Club There is another development 

Matches, of the g-ame in this country in the 
direction of increased interest in club 
matches, which has both advantages and 
disadvantages. Golf has never been re- 
g-arded as a g-ame for team matches in the 
past; it never can, from the very nature of 
thing's, be regarded in that lig*ht in the 
future. There is absolutely no scope for 
team work in these encounters between 
clubs, and so, at best, they can only be 
taken as an excuse for friendly g-athering-s. 
Looked at from that point of view, they are 
entirely unobjectionable, and very often 
most enjoyable. Yet there is a certain 
dang-er in them, especially in America, 
which, however slight, ought to be carefully 
guarded ag-ainst. So far golf, both here 
and in Great Britain, has been free from 



240 Benefit of Better Courses. 

any taint of semi-professionalism; and very 
naturally so, because it has always been 
regarded as a game for individual amuse- 
metit. Amateur championships are inven- 
tions of recent date, and club matches 
would probably never have crept into prac- 
tice if it had not been for the inter-univer- 
sity contests at Oxford and Cambridge. 

It is easily understood that where a man 
plays for his own amusement the element 
of semi-professionalism cannot exist; but as 
soon as club rivalry is introduced the in- 
ducement to resort to questionable methods 
becomes a factor in the game. It is very 
hard for golfers in England and Scotland to 
understand that such a danger can exist, 
because they have never looked upon club 
rivalry as a determining feature of the sit- 
uation. Here in America the spirit of com- 
petition is so keen in every walk of life that 
it is just as well to face the danger at the 
outset and make provision against it ; for it 
would be a thousand pities if the disease 
which has infected both football and base- 
ball should spread into golf. 
The Benefit Possibly the best way of deal- 
of Better ing with the subject is for the 
Courses. association to take absolutely no 
cognizance of club matches; in that way the 
club match may still be a source of enjoy- 



Benefit of Better Courses. 241 

merit without becoming- a matter of public 
interest. And in the second place, I am 
confident that the gradual improvement in 
the various courses all over the country 
w^ill make g-olf more and more desirable for 
its ov^n sake, and not for the g"lory or re- 
wards which at present g-ive it a spurious 
value. There is not a doubt that inferior 
courses lead to a multiplying* of competi- 
tions of every kind, because interest mus\ 
be stimulated in every way to make up for 
the defects in the g^ame itself. It is an in- 
variable rule that the better the links the 
fewer are the competitions. This arg-u- 
ment applies not only to the hunting after 
prizes, but in a minor deg-ree to club 
matches. If your course is a g-ood one you 
will g*et far more enjoyment out of a week's 
g-ood match play than from any number of 
official events. 



CHAPTER IX. 

AMATEURS ABROAD. 

THERE have been so many discussions 
of a somewhat futile nature upon the 
relative merits of British and American 
players, that it may be interesting- to know 
exactly how g-olfers in America rank with 
the experts on the other side of the water. 
As I have already pointed out, the conclu- 
sions which mig-ht be drawn from the re- 
sults of the amateur and open competi- 
tions held in this country during* the last 
three years are manifestly unfair to the 
amateurs, for the very simple reason that 
the amateurs have never yet met the pro- 
fessionals on even terms. And had they 
done so, it must be remembered thatLloyd's 
score of 163 at Wheaton in the champion- 
ship tournament of 1897 compares very 
favorably with the winning scores over such 
courses as Hoylake and Muirfield, which 
are certainly two strokes easier than the 
course of the Chicag"o golf club; and it is 
not so many years ago that no amateur in 
Great Britain was expected to come within 

243 



244 Amateurs Abroad. 

ten strokes of the first place in the open 
event. 

As far as I can judg-e, it is impossible to 
compute the difference between first-class 
form here and in Scotland or Eng-land by a 
definite number of strokes. The class in 
America is so exceeding-ly small that the 
results attained are, comparatively speak- 
ing-, most indifferent. And yet the class 
exists and must be judg-ed on its merits. 
The difference really consists only in the 
matter of steadiness and confidence in tour- 
nament play. Mr. Charles Macdonald may 
be taken as a typical example of the first- 
class American amateur. His record for 
a sing-le season over the links of the Chi- 
cag-o Golf Club at Wheaton is almost as 
g-ood as that of any Scotch player over 
the links of St. Andrews. And yet in tour- 
nament play he would certainly be out- 
classed by the first six or eig^ht amateurs 
who are sure to put in an appearance for 
any g-reat event in Scotland. It may seem 
strang-e that a player who is capable of 
producing- an invincible g-ame on ordinary 
occasions, should fail when skill is most 
called for. In reality the explanation is 
very simple. No one who has lived in 
America up to the present time can pos- 
sibly have acquired the tournament habit; 



Amateurs Abroad. 245 

for after all, the ability to play up to form in 
important events is not entirely a matter of 
nerve, but comes in great measure from 
long- experience; and as important tourna- 
ments have only recently been instituted in 
America such experience is entirely out of 
the question. The only difference between 
the first class proper in Great Britain, and 
the much larger class which includes the 
rank and file of those who are placed at 
scratch in the handicap list of the Royal and 
Ancient Golf Club, lies in the possession of 
this same tournament habit; and it is ex- 
ceedingly rarely that any very young player 
makes his way into the real aristocracy of 
the game. Even when he does he is not by 
any means sure to keep^his position, as is 
proved by the fact that Mr. P. C. Anderson, 
one of the youngest of amateur champions, 
has failed to live up to the honors that he 
won a few years ago. 

Mr. F. G. Tait was considered a mere 
boy when he captured the coveted laurels in 
1896 ; but he was twenty-five years of age, 
and had also had the advantage of constant 
familiarity with the best players from the 
time that he first went to school. The real 
first class in Great Britain is confined to 
those members of the bigbrigade who went 
down at Muirfield last spring before the 







MR. F. G. TAIT AND TOM MORRIS 
246 




Photographed by R. W. Haivks, Edinhurgh 
MR. F. G. TAIT, PLAYING A CLEEK SHOT 



247 




MR. A. J. T. ALLEN, PUTTING 

248 



Amateurs Abroad. 249 

prowess of two comparative youngsters in 
the persons of Mr. Robb and Mr. Allen. In 
spite of their defeat, they are still the lead- 
ing- figures in amateur golf, partly on 
account of their past career, and partly 
because they are sure to supply most of 
the medal winners and champions for some 
time to come. 

The list includes the names of Mr. John 
Ball, Mr. J. E. Laidlay, Mr. Harold Hilton, 
Mr. F. G. Tait, Mr. Horace Hutchinson, 
Mr. Leslie Balfour-Melville, Mr. Mure- 
Fergusson and the Messrs. Blackwell. 
To these we must add, in view of recent 
events, the names of Mr. AUea and Mr. 
Robb. 

Take these men and a few others, whom 
I may have inadvertently omitted, from 
the so called first class in Great Britain, 
and I do not think that there are any 
players out of the remainder who are likely 
to show better form than can be seen 
among the first-class players of this coun- 
try — always provided that the term first- 
class as applied to American golf really ap- 
plies only to those who have learned their 
game in Scotland. When we come to the 
average scratch player in American clubs, 
such as Mr. Fenn, Mr. Tyng, and a host of 
others who have shown skill in other 



250 Amateurs Abroad. 

branches of athletics, we are dealing- with 
a different class altogether, composed of 
men who would rank for the most part 
with the converted cricketers of England, 
such as Mr. E. Buckland, Mr. C. Toppin, 
Mr. Croome and many others who have 
discarded the bat in favor of the driver. 
These players are rather better than the 
regular second-class performers according 
to the old system of division when the 
second class included all those who could 
play Mr. Laidlay or Mr. Balfour-Melville 
with a third of a stroke a hole. The 
cricketing- conting-ent can do better than 
that, and yet they are g-enerally too un- 
steady to be classed even with the ordinary 
scratch players at St. Andrews. To put it 
shortly, then, I should place our first class 
proper on the same level as the averag-e 
scratch players of St. Andrews, and our 
best native talent on a par with the cricket- 
ers in England. What the precise difference 
is between our first class proper and the 
British first class proper is still an uncer- 
tain quantity, but it depends a g-reat deal 
upon the ability of men of the Ball and Hil- 
ton class to play their best game when it is 
most required. 

The existence of this special class in 
England and Scotland is only of recent date, 




MR. J. E. LAIDLAY 
251 




Photographed by R. W. Hmvks, Edinburgh 
MR. J. E. LAIDLAY, PUTTING 
252 



Amateurs Abroad. 253 

and so we need not despair of making* a 
similar advance in this country before many 
years are past. The improvement in 
American g-olf courses is a most important 
factor in the development of the g-ame ; but 
of greater v^eig-ht still is the fact that our 
colleg"e boys are only novs^ beg'inning- to take 
g-olf seriously. When they have had a few 
more years' practice the limits of our first 
class will be enormously extended; for 
youthful training- alone can produce the 
very best players. 

Among- those who belong- to the inner 
circle in Great Britain there is no more 
brilliant and successful player than Mr. 
J. E. Laidlay. The only distinction which 
he has not won is the open championship of 
Eng-land and Scotland, and that is a prize 
which has only three times fallen to an 
amateur. He has been amateur champion 
twice, and there is hardly a club of hig-h 
standing- in Scotland which does not claim 
him as a medal winner. Mr. Laidlay never, 
perhaps, attained that perfection of steadi- 
ness which for many years made Mr. John 
Ball almost invincible. On the other hand, 
he is accustomed to make so many extra- 
ordinary recoveries from seeming-ly hope- 
less situations that it has always been a 
great treat to watch his game in an im- 



254 Amateurs Abroad. 

portant match. Not only is he marvelously 
effective in a hig-h wind — a thing which in 
itself g-oes far to distinguish the really first- 
class player from the average scratch man, 
but he is one of the few men who seem able 
to do a hole of almost any length in three 
when circumstances require it. 

To a certain extent Mr. Laidlay had for 
a few years a deteriorating effect upon in- 
cipient golfers; because he was the first 
great player to adopt the method of driving 
off the left leg. For several years he had 
innumerable imitators who could easily as- 
sume a similar position, but never exhibited 
the genius necessary for making it success- 
ful. For a short time, indeed, it was more 
common to see examples of this style on 
the links than the older St. Andrews fashion. 
The fad has had its day by this time, and it 
will be a long time, in all probability, before 
another first-class player appears with so 
extreme a method. It may be equally long 
before we meet any one who has so perfect 
a control over his iron clubs. 

The old course at North Berwick has 
been lengthened and improved beyond 
recognition, and so it will never again be 
possible to see Mr. Laidlay negotiating the 
many short holes which used to demand 
the utmost skill in iron play. There was 



Amateurs Abroad. 255 

every kind of stroke then, from a full cleek 
to a mashie shot, and g-enerally it was 
necessary to pitch the ball upon a keen 
sloping- g-reen surrounded by hazards. No 
one has ever surpassed Mr. Laidlay at this 
g-ame, and it is doubtful whether any one 
ever will surpass him. Mr. Ball's full cleek 
shots are a marvel to all beholders ; Andrew 
Kirkcaldy can g-et as far with a half iron as 
most men can with a brassey, and Willie 
Campbell in his day was the g-reatest expo- 
nent of the mashie. But no player, either 
amateur or professional, has such a perfect 
command over every iron club in the set as 
Mr. Laidlay. As a driver he is brilliant, 
but inclined to be erratic on occasion, a 
fault which g-ives him ample opportunity of 
displaying- his g-reat power of recovery. 
On the putting- g-reen he is also a trifle un- 
certain. Few men hole a g-reater number 
of long- puts than he, and yet few among- 
the first-class players miss so many short 
ones. In this respect, at least, he is mortal, 
and that is possibly the reason that he has 
never w^on the open championship, which is 
decided by medal play. 

Mr. Ball has won both the open and ama- 
teur championships, the latter upon four 
occasions, and is also so fine a match player 
that he must be ranked as the most sue- 



256 Amateurs Abroad. 

cessfuL and indeed the greatest amateur 
g-olfer of the day. If he is more liable to 
defeat now than he was a few years ag-o, 
it must be remembered that g-eneral form 
has improved wonderfully of late, and it 
would be impossible for any one to main- 
tain for very long* the unique position 
which he held in the g-olfing- world a short 
time ag-o. Of a slig-ht but wiry frame, he is 
possessed of g-reat physical strength and 
endurance. And here it may be well to 
remark upon the fact that the idea which 
many people still entertain reg^arding- the 
amount of muscle requisite for pre-eminence 
in the game is entirely erroneous. No one 
could call Mr. Ball, or Mr. Laidlay, or Mr. 
Hilton a physical g-iant; but they are all 
men of g'reat muscular power and perfect 
health, accustomed to an abundance of out- 
door exercise. Great height is not appar- 
ently of any particular advantage, althoug-h 
it is naturally conducive to long- driving-. 
The Messrs. Blackwell, Mr. Arnold Blyth 
and Mr. Mure-Fergusson, to mention no 
others, are instances of large, power- 
ful men who excel in the use of the wooden 
club. But, after all, there is practically 
little difference between the driving of 
the most powerful player, and that of a 
man like Mr. Hilton, who is, comparatively 




^^^..^^.^^.^„^,»^ - 'f/'^LJ. 



MR. JOHN BALL 
257 



258 Amateurs Abroad. 

speaking-, of small stature. It is only in 
the case of Mr. ''Ted" Blackwell that the 
added distance begins to tell. Certainly Mr. 
Ball is as fine a driver as any one could wish 
to be, and he probably weighs less than Mr. 
Hilton. But then, he is a man of iron mus- 
cle, and that is the essential thing*. A weak 
player may drive excellently for eig-hteen 
holes or so, but he is bound to tire sooner 
or later, especially when any strain is put 
upon him. Moreover, he is very apt to be 
short with his iron clubs. Mr. Ball and Mr. 
Hilton can drive just at well at the end of 
four days' tournament as at the beg-inning-, 
because being naturally endowed with 
strength of limb, they always have some- 
thing in reserve. No one seeing Mr. Hilton 
finishing his fourth round in the open event 
could ever imagine that he had exerted 
himself at all. He never seems to drive a 
very long ball, and what is more curious, he 
generally drives rather high. Yet when 
the distance is actually measured he is just 
as likely to be ahead of a long driving 
opponent as not. 

It is in the short game that he is mostly 
to be feared. When the average scratch 
player holes a ball with his mashie at a 
distance of thirty or forty yards, the feat 
is looked upon as an egregious fluke, at 



^ 

w 



o 
> 

d 

w 

i 

o 
d 

O 





259 



26o Amateurs Abroad. 

least by his antag-onists. When Mr. Hil- 
ton takes up his mashie, you are never quite 
sure that he is not going- to finish matters 
with one stroke until the ball stops rolling-. 
In playing- for the open championship at 
Muirfield, a few years ag-o, he twice holed 
the ball with his mashie in the last round, 
and once when he w^as lying- almost buried 
in a rabbit scrape. That, of course, was an 
extraordinary stroke of luck; but still it is 
not exaggeration to say that when he does 
g-et into the hole with a short approach shot, 
it is not always to be reg-arded as a mistake. 
One curious fact about Mr. Hilton's career 
is that he has twice won the open champion- 
ship, but never has quite succeeded in win- 
ning- the amateur event. This inconsist- 
ency is g-enerally laid down to his g-reat 
steadiness and precision, which have a more 
telling- effect in compiling- a score than in 
match play. And yet his actual fig'ures do 
not show this extraordinary steadiness. 
At Muirfield his last round was marvel- 
ously low, and so, too, he only succeeded 
in defeating- Mr. F. G. Tait at Hoylake in 
1897 by accomplishing- the last eig-hteen 
holes in seventy-five strokes. The fact re- 
mains, however, that he has twice defeated 
all comers in the open field, and that is suf- 
ficient glory to last any amateur a lifetime. 




MR. F. G. TAIT, DRIVING 
261 




Photographed hy R. W, Hawks, Edinburgh 
MR. F. G. TAIT, DRIVING 



262 



Amateurs Abroad. 263 

Mr. Tait has come nearer equaling- this 
feat than any one else, because twice in 
succession he has been within an ace of se- 
curing- the coveted position; so that, al- 
though he has never actually won the open 
championship, he has at least proved him- 
self worthy of the hig-hest rank. He has 
never won his spurs easily, for he had sev- 
eral hard fig-hts for the amateur champion- 
ship before he actually came to the front in 
1896. 

In nothing that he has done, therefore, 
has he been in any way indebted to fortune. 
In fact, there is no player at the present 
moment whose chances for any event w^ould 
be reckoned higher than his. He won the 
St. Andrews medal at a very early age, but 
he had worked hard for the distinction. 
From his earliest years he was accustomed 
to play over the St. Andrews links, and 
when he first went to school he was in the 
habit of playing occasional matches with 
several of the leading amateurs; and that 
is a privilege which very few boys can ex- 
joy. Consequently his arrival at the top of 
the ladder was constantly expected, and in 
all human probability he is bound to stay 
there for many years to come. His apti- 
tude for sports is another proof of the fact 
that few golfers ever reach the summit of 



264 Amateurs Abroad. 

their ambition who are not blessed with 
physical advantag'es. Mr. Tait was a g*ood 
cricketer at school, and a first-class football 
player at Sandhurst, and what is still more 
important, there is not a fellow-sportsman 
in any branch of athletics who knows him 
and familiarly calls him '* Freddy," who 
has not also the greatest admiration for his 
good qualities. 

But of all g-olfers in the world the most 
popular is Mr. Horace G. Hutchinson, who 
is just as well known by his writings as by 
his successes on the links. Mr. Hutchin- 
son was, I suppose, the first Englishman 
who ever won the St. Andrews medal, and 
the mere fact that he could do such a thing, 
and still retain the friendship of Scotch- 
men, speaks volumes in his favor. When 
he first astonished the inhabitants of St. 
Andrews by the marvelous accuracy of his 
driving, he was one of the most dangerous 
men in any field. Since that time he has 
been a victim to the all-devouring epidemic 
of influenza, and is no longer such a for- 
midable member of the small band; but 
every now and then he gives the public a 
taste of his old quality, and when that is the 
case, the victory is sure to be a popular one. 
Few men are his superiors to-day on the 




MR. HORACE G. HUTCHINSON 
265 



266 Amateurs Abroad. 

field of battle ; no one comes near him in the 
world of g-olfing- literature. From the time 
that he issued his first little work upon golf, 
which in itself was an epitome of what all 
such books should be, he has never failed 
of a larg-e and enthusiastic audience. The 
Badminton book is almost entirely the work 
of his pen, and to-day it is the only great 
classic upon the subject. Times have 
changed since it was first published, and 
yet there is very little of practical use to 
the golfer which he cannot find there to- 
day expressed in the most simple and read- 
able language. 

Mr. Leslie Balfour-Melville is another 
golfer who has been many years before the 
public. It would be unkind here to say 
how many years ago he first won the St. 
Andrews medal; and indeed, if I did hunt 
up the date in the book of the Royal and 
Ancient Golf Club, no one after seeing him 
would believe it. Nothing could have been 
more gratifying than his victory in the 
amateur championship of 1895. Not only 
did it come as a well merited reward to one 
of the best athletes that Scotland has ever 
produced, but it served to show that none, 
or at least very few of us, need ever despair 
of developing a really first-class game, even 
though we may have lived long on the 




MR. LESLIE BALFOUR-MELVILLE, PUTTING 
267 



268 Amateurs Abroad. 

shady side of thirty. Of course Mr. Bal- 
four-Melville had a great deal in his favor. 
He has always been a successful golfer, 
and in addition has done more for Scotch 
cricket than any other player. He also 
won laurels on the football field in his col- 
lege days and is an expert in every game 
that he takes up. But that does not alter 
the astonishing fact that after ranking 
among first-class golfers for nearly a quar- 
ter of a century he is still able to defeat 
young and old alike in the most important 
event of the year. 

Of the other great players volumes might 
be written, but a few w^ords must suffice 
here in passing tribute to the extraordinary 
game which Mr. *'Ted" Blackwell has de- 
veloped and retained, in spite of many suc- 
cessive years spent on a ranch in California 
without any chance of wielding a golf club. 
Mr. Blackwell is, with the probable excep- 
tion of Douglas Rolland, the only player of 
whom one can positively say that his driv- 
ing is superior to that of the average first- 
class golfer. There are several men who 
rank as exceptionally long drivers, but put 
them against Mr. Balfour-Melville or Mr. 
Hilton, who have no such reputation, and 
you will find very little difference in the 
average distance. An occasional advant- 




MR. E. BLACKWELL 
369 



270 Amateurs Abroad. 

ag-e of ten yards is really of very small value 
unless it is constant. With Mr. Blackwell 
it is not a question of ten yards, but 
more generally thirty or forty; and that is 
heart breaking*. There are many feats of 
driving- which have been handed down to 
g-olfing- history in illustration of Mr. Black- 
well's prowess. The most remarkable is 
perhaps one which he accomplished at St. 
Andrews several years ag-o, when he drove 
the long hole at St. Andrews in two shots 
each way, thus proving that the wind had 
nothing to do with it. On another occasion 
I saw him drive the wall hole at Prestwick 
in two shots three times on the same day. 
That this was an extraordinary perform- 
ance may be judged from the fact that the 
actual distance which has to be covered is 
over four hundred yards, with a wall at the 
end of it, so that the roll of the second shot 
cannot be taken into consideration. More- 
over, the hole is only driven in two upon 
rare occasions when there is a strong wind 
in favor of the play. On this particular day 
Mr. Blackwell had no wind behind him to 
speak of; and twice out of the three times 
he used only an iron club for the second 
shot. That is the kind of driving that 
makes a difference. Mr. Blackwell is not 
above the average in his short game, but 



Amateurs Abroad. 271 

his driving- is so magriificent that he can 
well afford a few missed puts. 

It would be peculiarly interesting to en- 
counter Mr. Blackwell upon an American 
links, because either the climate here is in 
favor of long- driving- or American players 
drive an exceptionally long- ball. Last year 
Mr. McCawley, of the Philadelphia Country 
Club, won a long- driving- competition with a 
carry of two hundred and eight yards, and 
that with hardly any wind in his favor. 
Ag-ain in the present year Mr. H. M. Harri- 
man came in first with a carry and roll of 
two hundred and forty yards under rather 
more favorable circumstances, because the 
g-round was hard and level; but even so he 
had only a slig-ht breeze behind him. These 
fig-ures are absolutely correct, and yet they 
woiild be considered exceedingly high in 
Scotland. Driving is, of course, the easiest 
part of the game to the beginner; and yet 
it is consoling to know that in this respect, 
at least, we are not behind our friends in 
the old country. 



THE RULES OF GOLF 



AS REVISED BY 



The Royal and Ancient Golf Club 
of St. Andrews 

IN i8gi 



With Rulings and Interpretations by the 
Executive Committee of 

THE UNITED STATES GOLF ASSOCIATION 

IN 1897 



Preface 

At a meeting of the executive committee 
of the United States Golf Association, held 
at the Shinnecock Hills Golf Club at South- 
ampton, Long- Island, July 18, 1896, it was 
voted : 

''That Mr. C. B. Macdonald and Mr. 
Laurence Curtis be appointed a special 
committee to interpret the rules of g-olf and 
to present their report for action at the 
annual meeting*." 

Owing- to the unexpectedamount of labor 
and investig-ation required, the committee 
were unable to make their report untilJune 
10, 1897, when the following- codification of 
rules and ruling-s was duly presented to the 
executive committee and by them ratified 
and ordered to be promulgated and pub- 
lished as the law of the United States Golf 
Association. 

The special committee have made no 
change in the words of the rules as they 
stand in the code of the Royal and Ancient 
Golf Club of St. Andrews, revised in 1891 ; 
but they have appended to said rules the 

275 



276 Preface. 

ruling-s of the United States Golf Associa- 
tion, based upon the results of many de- 
cisions of committees or experts, or upon 
customs which have obtained in the best 
clubs in Scotland and England. 

They hereby acknowledge with thanks, 
assistance and advice received from the fol- 
lowing authorities: The editor of **Golf," 
and Messrs. Horace G. Hutchinson, Harold 
H. Hilton, Leslie Balfour-Melville, W. T. 
Linskill, H. J. Whigham and others. 

There will doubtless be found many 
points not covered in this work. Such are 
mostly those which should be made the sub- 
jects of local rules, or such as may be con- 
sidered to belong to the etiquette of golf. 

Such would be questions as to: 

Dropping a ball at the edge of a hazard 
where it is impracticable to drop it behind 
the hazard. (Rule 19 and Medal Rule 8.) 

Outsiders looking for a lost ball. (Rule 
37.) 

Unplayable balls (Rule 38), or mud 
adhering to a ball. 

Discontinuing play on account of sudden 
severe storms, or for taking refreshments. 
(Rule 11, Medal Play.) 

Lifting balls lying on putting greens 
other than the one played to. 

Casual water through the fair green. 



Preface. 277 

Boundaries, walls, fences, gates, rabbit 
holes, gopher holes, direction flags, etc. 

Strict definition of hazards on the course. 

Liability of players to suffer the full 
penalty when their caddies commit a breach 
of any rule. 

Restraint upon single players practicing 
on the course. 

Right of parties with caddies to pass 
parties without caddies, or a single to pass 
a foursome. 

Slow or inexperienced players blocking 
the course. 

Stringent rules for keeping scores in 
competitions. 

Charles Blair Macdonald. 
Laurknce Curtis. 



Rul 



es 



RULE 1. 
The game of g-olf is played by two or 
more sides, each playing- its own ball. A 
side may consist of one or more persons. 

RULING OF THE U. S. G. A. 

Two sides of single players constitute a 
match called a "Single." 

Two sides of two players each constitute 
a '* Foursome," and the players on either 
side are called ''Partners." 
RULE 2. 

The game consists in each side playing 
a ball from a tee into a hole by successive 
strokes, and the hole is won by the side 
holing its ball in the fewest strokes, except 
as otherwise provided for in the rules. If 
two sides hole out in the same number of 
strokes, the hole is halved. 

RULING OF THE U. S. G. A. 

"Match Play" is decided by the num- 
ber of holes won. 

" Medal Play " is decided by the aggre- 
gate number of strokes. 

278 



Rules. 279 

Unless otherwise stated, a match shall 
consist of the play of the g^ame over eig-hteen 
holes of the links. By agreement a match 
may consist of the play over any number 
of holes. 

In match play, the player plays ag-ainst 
an ''Opponent," and opponents have cer- 
tain privileg-es and responsibilities defined 
by the rules. 

In medal play and bog-ey competitions 
the players are all " competitors "and have 
special privileges (Medal Rules 5, 6, 7 and 
8), and a distinct responsibility. (Medal 
Rule 4.) 

" Col. Bogey " is an imaginary opponent 
ag'ainst whose arbitrary score each player 
plays by holes; otherwise bogey competi- 
tions are governed by medal play rules, 
except that the player loses a hole: 

When the ball is struck twice, or is 
stopped by the player, or his caddie, or 
clubs; 

When a ball is lost; 

When a ball is not played wherever it 

lies, except as provided for in Rules 17 

and 21. 

RULE 3. 

The teeing- g-round shall be indicated by 
two marks placed in a line at right angles 
to the course, and the players shall not tee 



2 8o Rules. 

in front of, nor on either side of these 
marks, nor more than two club lengths be- 
hind them. A ball played from outside the 
limits of the teeing* g-round, as thus defined, 
may be recalled by the opposite side. 

The hole shall be four and one-quarter 
inches in diameter and at least four inches 
deep. 

RULING OF THE U. S. G. A. 

The penalty for playing- the ball outside 
the limits, as thus defined, shall be: 
* In match play, the ball may be recalled 
by the opposite side (no stroke being- 
counted for the misplay). 

In medal play, the ball must be recalled 
(no stroke being- counted for the misplay) or 
the player shall be disqualified. 

The option of recalling- a ball is in all 
cases forfeited unless exercised at once be- 
fore another stroke has been played. 
RULE 4. 

The ball must be fairly struck at and 
not pushed, scraped nor spooned, under 
penalty of the loss of the hole. 

Any movement of the club which is in- 
tended to strike the ball is a stroke. 

RULING OF THE U. S. G. A. 

Penalty for breach of this rule: 
In Match Play, loss of the hole. 
In Medal Play, disqualification. 



Rules. 281 

RULE 5. 

The g-ame commences by each side play- 
ing- a ball from the first teeing- g-round. In 
a match with two or more on a side the 
partners shall strike off alternately from 
the tees, and shall strike alternately during- 
the play of the hole. 

The players, who are to strike ag-ainst 
each other, shall be named at starting- and 
shall continue in the same order during- the 
match. 

The player, who shall play first on each 
side, shall be named by his own side. 

In case of failure to ag-ree, it shall be 
settled by lot or toss which side shall have 
the option of leading*. 

RULE 6. 

If a player shall play when his partner 
should have done so, his side shall lose the 
hole, except in the case of the tee shot, when 
the stroke may be recalled at the option of 
the opponents. 

RULING OF THE U. S. G. A. 

Penalty for breach of this rule: 
In Match Play, loss of the hole. 
In Medal Play, if the player play the tee 
shot when his partner should have done so, 
the ball must be recalled (no stroke being- 
counted for the misplay) or the side shall be 



2 8^ Rules. 

disqualified. If a player play when his part- 
ner should have done so throug-h the g-reen, 
the ball shall be recalled and dropped, and 
a stroke counted for the misplay. 

RULE 7. 

The side winning- a hole shall lead in 
starting- for the next hole, and may recall 
the opponent's stroke should he play out of 
order. This privileg-e is called the " honor. " 

On starting- for a new match the winner 
of the long- match in the previous round is 
entitled to the honor. Should the first 
match have been halved, the winner of the 
last hole gained is entitled to the honor. 

RULING OF THE U. S. G. A. 

In Match Play, the stroke recalled is not 

counted. 

In Medal Play, the stroke may not be 

recalled. 

RULE 8. 

One round of the links, generally eig-h- 
teen holes, is a match, unless otherwise 
agreed upon. The match is won by the side 
which gets more holes ahead than there 
remain holes to be played, or by the side 
winning the last hole when the match was 
all even at the second last hole. If both 
sides have won the same number, it is a 
halved match. 



Rules. 2S3 

RULING OF THE U. S. G. A. 

In cofnpetttions : 

In Match Play, when two competitors 
have halved their match, they shall continue 
playing- hole by hole till one or the other 
shall have won a hole, which shall deter- 
mine the winner of the match. 

Should the match play competition be a 
handicap, the competitors must decide the 
tie by playing either one hole, three or five 
more holes, according* to the manner in 
which the handicap ceded falls upon certain 
holes so as to make the g*ame a fairly pro- 
portionate representation of the round. 

In Medal Play, where two or more com- 
petitors are tied, the winner shall be deter- 
mined by another round of the course; 
except that By-Laws 15 and 19 of the United 
States Golf Association provide that, in case 
of ties for the sixteenth place in the Ama- 
teur Championship medal rounds, or the 
eighth place in the Women's Championship 
medal rounds, respectively, the contestants 
so tied shall continue to play until one or the 
other shall have gained a lead by strokes, 
the hole or holes to be played out. 

RULE 9. 

After the balls are struck from the tee, 
the ball furthest from the hole to which the 



284 Rules. 

parties are playing- shall be played first, 
except as otherwise provided for in the 
Rules. Should the wrong- side play first, 
the opponent may recall the stroke before 
his side has played. 

RULING OF THE U. S. G. A. 

In Match Play, no stroke is counted for 

the misplay if recalled. 

In Medal Play, the stroke may not be 

recalled. 

RULE 10. 

Unless with the opponent's consent, a 
ball struck from the tee shall not be 
chang-ed, touched nor moved, before the 
hole is played out, under the penalty of one 
stroke, except as otherwise provided for in 
the Rules. 

RULING OF THE U. S. G. A. 

Penalty for breach of this rule: 

In Match Play, loss of one stroke. 
In Medal Play, loss of one stroke. 

RULE 11. 
In playing- throug-h the g-reen all loose 
impediments within a club length of a ball, 
which is not lying- in or touching a hazard, 
may be removed; but loose impediments 
which are more than a club length from the 
ball shall not be removed under penalty of 
one stroke. 



Rules. 285 

RULING OF THE U. S. G. A. 

Penalty for breach of this rule: 

In Match Play, loss of one stroke. 
In Medal Play, loss of one stroke. 
Ice, snow and hail within a club length 
of the ball through the green may be re- 
moved; but on the putting green the ice, 
snow and hail may only be removed as per 
Rule 34, '' by brushing lightly with the 
hand only across the put, and not along it." 
RULE 12. 

Before striking at the ball the player 
shall not move, bend nor break anything 
fixed or growing near the ball, except in 
the act of placing his feet on the ground for 
the purpose of addressing the ball, and in 
soling his club to address the ball, under 
the penalty of the loss of the hole, except 
as provided for in Rule 18. 

RULING OF THE U. S. G. A. 

Penalty for breach of this rule: 

In Match Play, loss of the hole. 
In Medal Play, disqualification. 
RULE 13. 

A ball stuck fast in wet ground or sand 
may be taken out and replaced loosely in 
the hole which it has made. 



286 Rules. 

RULE 14. 
When a ball lies in or touches a hazard, 
the club shall not touch the ground, nor 
shall anything- be touched or moved before 
the player strikes at the ball, except that 
the player may place his feet firmly on the 
g-round for the purpose of addressing- the 
ball, under the penalty of the loss of the 
hole. But if in the backward or in the 
downward swing- any grass, bent, whin or 
other growing- substance, or the side of a 
bunker or wall, paling or other immovable 
obstacle, be touched, no penalty shall be 
incurred. 

RULING OF THE U. S. G. A. 

Penalty for breach of this rule: 

In Match Play, loss of the hole. 

In Medal Play, for moving anything, dis- 
qualification ; for touching anything, loss of 
one stroke. 

The intent of this ruling is to prevent 
the player from altering or improving the 
lie of the ball. 

The club shall not be soled, nor the sur- 
face of the ground be touched within a 
radius of a club length from the ball, except 
that the player may place his feet firmly on 
the ground for the purpose of addressing 
the ball; but nothing herein shall be con- 
strued as allowing a player to test in any 



Rules. 287 

manner the consistency of the sand or soil 
in any part of the hazard, under penalty of 
disqualification. 

When a ball lies on turf in a hazard or 
surrounded by a hazard, it shall be con- 
sidered as being- on the fair green, /. e,^ the 
club may be soled. 

RULE 15. 

A " hazard '^ shall be any bunker of 
whatever nature — water, sand, loose earth, 
mole hills, paths, roads of railways, whins, 
bushes, rushes, rabbit scrapes, fences, 
ditches, or anything- which is not the ordi- 
nary g-reen of the course, except sand blown 
on to the g-rass by wind or sprinkled on the 
grass for the preservation of the links, or 
snow or ice or bare patches on the course. 

RULING OF THE U, S. G. A. 

Long grass or casual water on the fair 
green are not hazards. Woods are hazards. 
The fair green shall be considered any part 
of a course except the hazards and putting 
greens. 

RULE 16. 
A player, or a player's caddie, shall not 
press down nor remove any irregularities 
of surface near the ball, except at the teeing 
ground, under the penalty of the loss of the 
hole. 



288 Rules. 

RULING OF THE U. S. G. A. 

Penalty for breach of this rule: 

In Match Play, loss of the hole. 

In Medal Play, disqualification. 

'' Near the ball " shall be considered 
within a club leng-th. 

Pressing- down the surface near the ball 
by prolong-ed or forcible soling* of the club 
shall be deemed a breach of this rule. 
RULE 17. 

If any vessel, wheelbarrow, tool, roller, 
grass cutter, box or other similar obstruc- 
tion has been placed upon the course, such 
obstruction may be removed. 

A ball lying- on or touching- such obstruc- 
tion, or on clothes or nets, or on g-round 
under repair or temporarily covered up or 
opened, may be lifted and dropped at the 
nearest point of the course; but a ball lifted 
in a hazard shall be dropped in a hazard. A 
ball lying- in a g-olf hole or flag- hole may be 
lifted and dropped not more than a club 
leng-th behind such hole. 
RULE 18. 

When a ball is completely covered with 
fog-, bent, whins, etc., only so much thereof 
shall be set aside as that the player may 
have a view of his ball before he plays, 
whether in a line with the hole or otherwise. 



Rules. 289 

RULING OF THE U. S. G. A. 

Penalty for breach of this rule: 
In Match Play, loss of the hole. 
In Medal Play, disqualification. 
The *'etc." in this rule includes grass, 
bushes, plants, hedg-es, trees and foliag'e. 
RULE 19. 
When a ball is to be dropped the player 
shall drop it. He shall front the hole, stand 
erect behind the hazard, keep the spot from 
which the ball was lifted, or, in the case of 
running- water, the spot at which it entered, 
in a line between him and the hole, and drop 
the ball behind him from his head, standing 
as far behind the hazard as he may please. 

RULING OF THE U. S. G. A. 

Penalty for breach of this rule : 

In Match Play, if the ball has not been 
dropped in strict accordance with the rule, 
the opponent has the option of having- the 
ball dropped ag-ain. 

In Medal Play, if the ball has not been 
dropped in strict accordance with the rule, 
the other competitor must call for the ball 
to be dropped ag-ain, and the player must 
comply or be disqualified. 

The player must drop the ball himself, 
not his caddie nor his partner. A dropped 
ball shall not be considered in play until at 
rest. 



290 Rules. 

When a ball is lifted from a hazard and 
dropped and falls back into the hazard, the 
player may lift again without further pen- 
alty. 

RULE 20. 

When the balls in play lie within six 
inches of each other, measured from their 
nearest points, the ball nearer the hole shall 
be lifted until the other is played, and shall 
then be replaced as nearly as possible in its 
orig-inal position. Should the ball further 
from the hole be accidentally moved in so 
doing", it shall be replaced. Should the lie 
of the lifted ball be altered by the opponent 
in playing-, it may be replaced in a lie near 
to, and as nearly as possible similar to, that 
from which it was lifted. 
RULE 21. 

If the ball lie or be lost in water, the 
player may drop a ball under the penalty of 
one stroke. 

RULING OF THE U. S. G. A. 

When the ball lies in casual water on the 
putting- green, it maybe lifted without pen- 
alty and replaced by hand to one side but 
not nearer to the hole. 

A ball in water in a hazard may be lifted 
and dropped behind the water or hazard, 
under penalty of one stroke* 



Rules. 291 

RULE 22. 

Whatever happens by accident to a ball 
in motion^ such as its being* deflected or 
stopped by any agency outside of the match, 
or by the forecaddie, is a " rub of the 
g-reen," and the ball shall be played from 
where it lies. Should a ball lodg-e in any- 
thing* moving*, such ball, or, if it cannot be 
recovered, another ball, shall be dropped as 
nearly as possible at the spot where the ob- 
ject was when the ball lodg*ed in it. But if 
a ball at rest be displaced by any ag*ency 
outside the match, the player shall drop it, 
or another ball, as nearly as possible at the 
spot where it lay. On the putting* g*reen 
the ball may be replaced by hand. 

RULING OF THE U. S. G. A. 

Penalty for breach of this rule: 

In Match Play, loss of the hole. 

In Medal Play, disqualification. 

Wind and weather are not ag*encies 
'^outside the match.'' 

RULE 23. 

If the player's ball strike, or be accident- 
ally moved by, an opponent or an opponent's 
caddie or clubs, the opponent loses the hole. 

RULING OF THE U. S. G. A. 

Penalty incurred: 

In Match Play, loss of the hole. 



292 Rules, 

In Medal Play, no penalty. 

If the player's ball strike the other com- 
petitor or his caddie or clubs, it is a "rub 
of the g-reen," and the ball shall be played 
from where it lies. If the player's ball 
at rest be accidentally or intentionally 
moved by the other competitor or his caddie, 
the ball must be replaced. 
RULE 24. 

If the player's ball strike or be stopped 
by himself or his partner or either of their 
caddies or clubs, or if, while in the act of 
playing-, the player shall strike the ball 
twice, his side loses the hole. 

RULING OF THE U. S. G. A. 

Penalty for breach of this rule: 

In Match Play, loss of the hole. 
In Medal Play, loss of one stroke. 

RULE 25. 

If the player, when not making- a stroke, 
or his partner or either of their caddies, 
touch their side's ball, except at the tee, so 
as to move it, or by touching- anything- cause 
it to move, the penalty is one stroke. 

RULING OF THE U. S. G. A. 

Penalty incurred: 
In Match Play, loss of one stroke. 
In Medal Play, loss of one stroke. 



Rules. 293 

Except at the tee, if the ball move while 
the player is addressing* it, the player loses 
one stroke. 

Except at the tee, if the ball be struck 
while moving-, the penalty is one stroke, /. ^., 
one stroke for the moving- and one stroke 
for the play. 

Except at the tee, if struck at while mov- 
ing- and missed, one stroke shall be counted 
for the moving* and another for the miss. 
RULE 26. 

A ball is considered to have been moved 
if it leave its orig-inal position in the least 
deg-ree and stop in another; but if a player 
touch his ball and thereby cause it to oscil- 
late, without causing- it to leave its orig-inal 
position, it is not moved in the sense of 

Rule 25. 

RULE 27. 

A player's side loses a stroke if he play 
the opponent's ball, unless: (1) the oppo- 
nent then play the player's ball, whereby 
the penalty is canceled, and the hole must 
be played out with the balls thus exchang-ed; 
or (2) the mistake occur through wrong- in- 
formation given by the opponent, in which 
case the mistake, if discovered before the 
opponent has played, must be rectified by 
placing a ball as nearly as possible where 
the opponent's ball lay. 



294 Rules. 

If it be discovered before either side has 
struck off at the tee that one side has 
played out the previous hole with the ball 
of a party not engag-ed in the match, that 
side loses the hole. 

RULING OF THE U. S. G. A. 

Penalty for breach of this rule: 

lst« Playing* the opponent's ball with 
exceptions (1) and (2) above noted in the 
Rule : 

In Match Play, loss of one stroke. The 
ball must be replaced. 

In Medal Play, no penalty. The ball 
must be replaced. 

2d. Playing- out with the ball of a party 
not eng-ag-ed in the match: 

In Match Play, if discovered before the 
next tee stroke, loss of the hole. 

In Medal Play, the player must go back 
and play his own ball, or, not finding it, re- 
turn as nearly as possible to the spot where 
it was last struck, tee another ball and lose 
a stroke (Rule 5, Medal Play), or else be 
disqualified. 

RULE 28. 

If a ball be lost, the player's side loses 
the hole. A ball shall be considered as lost 
if it be not found within five minutes after 
the search is begun. 



Rules. 295 

RULING OF THE U. S. G. A. 

Penalty mcurred : 

In Match Play, loss of the hole. 

Where both balls are lost at the same 
time, neither side wins the hole, which 
should be called halved, irrespective of the 
number of strokes that either side may 
have played. A player who has lost his 
ball may, before giving- up the hole, ask the 
opponent to show his (the opponent's) ball. 

In Medal Play, loss of one stroke and 
distance. 

The player must return as nearly as 
possible to the spot where the ball was 
struck, tee another ball and lose one stroke. 
But if the ball be found before he has 
struck the other ball, the first ball shall 
continue in play. 

RULE 29. 

A ball must be played wherever it lies, 
or the hole given up, except as otherwise 
provided for in the Rules. 

RULING OF THE U. S. G. A. 

Penalty : 

In Match Play, loss of the hole. 

In Medal Play, loss of two strokes, and 
ball may be teed. 

The exceptions are provided for in 
Rules 17 and 21. 



296 Rules. 

RULE 30. 

The term "putting- green" shall mean 
the ground within twenty yards of the hole, 
excepting- hazards. 

RULING OF THE U. S. G. A. 

If a hazard be within the twenty-yard 
limit of the hole, the g-round outside of such 
hazard may not be considered as putting- 
g-reen, even thoug-h it be within the twenty- 
yard radius from the hole. 

RULE 31. 

All loose impediments may be removed 
from the putting- g-reen, except the oppo- 
nent's ball, when at a g-reater distance 
from the player's than six inches. 

RULING OF THE U. S. G. A. 

In Medal Play, on the putting- g-reen, the 
ball nearer the hole may be holed out or 
lifted at its owner's option if '4t be in 
such a position that it mig-ht, if left, give 
an advantage to the other competitor." 
(Rule 9, Medal Play.) 

RULE 32. 

In a match of three or more sides a ball 
in any degree lying between the player and 
the hole must be lifted, or, if on the putting 
green, holed out. 



Rules. 297 

RULE 33. 

When the ball is on the putting* green, 
no mark shall be placed nor line drawn as a 
g-uide; the line to the hole may be pointed 
out, but the person doing- so may not touch 
the ground with the hand or club. 

The player may have his own or his 
partner's caddie to stand at the hole, but 
none of the players, nor their caddies, may 
move so as to shield the ball from, or expose 
it to, the wind. 

The penalty for any breach of this rule 
is the loss of the hole. 

RULING OF THE U. S. G. A. 

Penalty for breach of this rule: 
In Match Play, loss of the hole. 
In Medal Play, disqualification. 
The putting- line shall not be considered 

to extend beyond the hole. 

RULE 34. 

The player or his caddie may remove 
(but not press down) sand, earth, worm 
casts or snow lying- around the hole or on 
the line of his put. This shall be done by 
brushing- lightly with the hand only across 
the put, and not along it. Dung may be re- 
moved to a side by an iron club, but the 
club must not be laid with more than its 



298 Rules. 

own weig-ht upon the ground. The putting- 
line must not be touched by club, hand or 
foot, except as above authorized, or imme- 
diately in front of the ball in the act of 
addressing- it, under the penalty of the loss 
of the hole. 

RULING OF THE U. S. G. A. 

Penalty for breach of this rule: 

In Match Play, loss of the hole. 

In Medal Play, disqualification. 

The putting- line shall not be considered 
to extend beyond the hole. 

The " player or his caddie " shall include 
his partner and his partner's caddie. 

RULE 35. 

Either side is entitled to have the flag- 
stick removed when approaching- the hole. 
If a ball rest ag-ainst the flag- stick when in 
the hole, the player shall be entitled to re- 
move the stick, and, if the ball fall in, it 
shall be considered as holed out in the pre- 
vious stroke. 

RULING OF THE U. S. G. A. 

Penalty for putting at the hole with the flag 
stick in it and striking the flag stick: 
In Match Play, no penalty. 
In Medal Play, disqualification. 



Rules. 299 

RULE 36. 

A player shall not play until the oppo- 
nent's ball shall have ceased to roll, under 
the penalty of one stroke. Should the 
player's ball knock in the opponent's ball, 
the latter shall be counted as holed out in 
the previous stroke. If, in playing-, the 
player's ball displace the opponent's ball, 
the opponent shall have the option of re- 
placing* it. 

RULING OF THE U. S. G. A. 

Penalty under this rule: 

In Match Play, loss of one stroke. 

In Medal Play, loss of one stroke. 

Should the player's ball knock in the op- 
ponent's ball: 

In Match Play, the latter shall be 
counted as holed out in the previous 
stroke. 

In Medal Play, the latter must be re- 
placed. 

Should the player's ball displace the op- 
ponent's ball: 

In Match Play, the latter shall have the 
option of replacing- his ball, and must exer- 
cise such option at once and before any fur- 
ther play. 

In Medal Play, the latter must replace 
his ball. 



300 Rules. 

A player having- holed out his ball in the 
like or the odd may knock away the oppo- 
nent's ball from the lip of the hole and claim 
the hole if he had holed in the like, or a half 
if he had holed in the odd. 
RULE 37. 

A player shall not ask for advice, nor be 
knowing-ly advised, about the g-ame by 
word, look or g-esture from any one except 
his own caddie or his partner or partner's 
caddie, under the penalty of the loss of the 
hole. 

RULING OF THE U. S. G. A. 

Penalty for breach of this rule; 

In Match Play, loss of the hole. 

In Medal Play, disqualification. 
RULE 38. 

If a ball split into separate pieces, 
another ball may be put down where the 
larg-est portion lies ; or if two pieces are 
apparently of equal size, it may be put 
where either piece lies, at the option of the 
player. If a ball crack, or become unplay- 
able, the player may chang-e it on intimat- 
ing* to his opponent his intention to do so. 
RULE 39. 

A penalty stroke shall not be counted 
the stroke of a player, and shall not affect 
the rotation of the play. 



Rules. 301 

RULING OF THE U. S. G. A. 

A** stroke" is any movement of the 
club which is intended to strike the ball. 
A player who while addressing his ball in- 
tentionally or accidentally causes it to move, 
shall be considered to have played one 
stroke (except at the tee). 

A " penalty stroke" is a stroke added to 

the score of a side for infringing* certain 

rules. 

RULE 40. 

Should a dispute arise on any point, the 
players have the right of determining the 
party or parties to whom the dispute shall 
be referred; but should they not agree, 
either party may refer it to the Green Com- 
mittee of the green where the dispute oc- 
curs, and their decision shall be final. 
Should the dispute not be covered by the 
Rules of Golf, the arbiters must decide it 
by equity. 

RULING OF THE U. S. G. A. 

Such decisions may be finally referred 
to the Executive Committee of the United 
States Golf Association. 



Special Rules for Medal Play 

RULE 1. 

In club competitions the competitor 
doing- the stipulated course in fewest 
strokes shall be the winner. 
RULE 2. 

If the lowest score be made by two or 
more competitors, the ties shall be decided 
by another round to be played either on the 
same day or on any other day, as the Cap- 
tain, or in his absence the Secretary, shall 
direct. 

RULING OF THE U. S. G. A. 

Except that By-laws 15 and 19 of the 
United States Golf Association provide that, 
in case of ties for the sixteenth place in the 
amateur championship medal rounds, or for 
the eighth place in the women's champion- 
ship medal rounds, respectively, the con- 
testants so tied shall continue to play until 
one or the other shall have g-ained a lead by 
strokes, the hole or holes to be played out. 
RULE 3. 

New holes shall be made for the medal 
round, and thereafter no member shall 

302 



Special Rules for Medal Play. 303 

play any stroke on the putting* green before 
competing-. 

RULING OF THE U. S. G. A. 

Penalty for breach of this rule is dis- 
qualification. 

Competitors must always assume that 
new holes have been made, whether really 
made or not. Trial strokes may be played 
throug-h the fair g*reen, but no stroke may 
be played within twenty yards of any hole 
on the course where the competition takes 
place. 

In match play competitions, other than 
bog-ey competitions, a member may play 
upon the putting- g-reens. 

RULE 4. 

The scores shall be kept by a special 
marker, or by the competitors noting- each 
other's scores. The scores marked shall 
be checked at the finish of each hole. On 
the completion of the course the score of 
the player shall be sig-ned by the person 
keeping- the score and handed to the Secre- 
tary. 

RULING OF THE U. S. G. A. 

Penalty for breach of this rule is dis- 
qualification. 

The score must be handed to the Secre- 
tary or to some person desig-nated by the 



304 Special Rules for Medal Play. 

Green Committee. A caddie may not keep 
score, nor may an outsider (a player not in 
competition) playing- with a competitor do 
so without the sanction of the club's ex- 
ecutive. 

It is commended, but not required, to 
mark down each stroke as played. 
RULE 5. 

If a ball be lost, the player shall return 
as nearly as possible to the spot where the 
ball was struck, tee another ball and lose a 
stroke. If the lost ball be found before he 
has struck the other ball, the first shall con- 
tinue in play. 

RULING OF THE U. S. G. A. 

Penalty for breach of this rule is dis- 
qualification. 

RULE 6. 

If the player's ball strike himself or his 
clubs or caddie, or if in the act of playing- 
the player strike the ball twice, the penalty 
shall be one stroke. 

RULING OF THE U. S. G. A. 

If the player's ball strike a forecaddie, 
it is a '' rub of the g-reen." 
RULE 7. 

If a competitor's ball strike the other 
player or his club or caddie, it is a '' rub of 
the g-reen," and the ball shall be played 
from where it lies. 



Special Rules for Medal Play. 305 

RULE 8. 
A ball may, under a penalty of two 
strokes, be lifted out of a difficulty of any 
description, and be teed behind the same. 

RULE 9. 

All balls shall be holed out, and when 
play is on the putting* g-reen the flag shall 
be removed, and the competitor whose ball 
is nearest to the hole shall have the option 
of holing- out first, or of lifting* his ball, if 
it be in such a position that it mig-ht, if left, 
g-ive an advantag-e to the other competitor. 
Throughout the green a competitor can 
have the other competitor's ball lifted, if he 
find that it interferes with his stroke. 

RULING OF THE U. S. G. A. 

Penalty for breach of this rule is dis- 
qualification. 

Either player may judge whether the 
balls as they lie give the other an ad- 
vantage. 

If a ball at rest be caused by any agency 
outside the match to roll into the hole, the 
ball shall not be considered as holed out in 
the previous stroke, but shall be replaced 
as nearly as possible in the same position 
as occupied before it was displaced. 

Should a competitor hole out with a ball 
other than his own, he shall be disqualified. 



3o6 Special Rules for Medal Play. 

unless he can g-o back and resume play with 
his orig-inal ball, or, failing* to find it, return 
as nearly as possible to the spot where it 
was last struck, tee another ball and lose a 
stroke. (Rule 5, Medal Play.) 

RULE 10. 

A competitor may not play with a pro- 
fessional, and he may not receive advice 
from any one but his caddie. 

A forecaddie may be employed. 

RULING OF THE U. S. G. A. 

Penalty for breach of this rule is dis- 
qualification. 

Each competitor may have a forecaddie. 

RULE 11. 

Competitors may not discontinue play 
because of bad weather. 

RULING OF THE U. S. G. A. 

Penalty for breach of this rule is dis- 
qualification. 

RULE 12. 

The penalty for a breach of any rule 
shall be disqualification. 

RULE 13. 

Any dispute regarding- the play shall be 
determined by the Green Committee. 



Special Rules for Medal Play. 307 

RULING OF THE U. S. G. A. 

Such decision may be finally referred to 
the Executive Committee of the United 
States Golf Association. 

RULE 14. 

The ordinary rules of golf, so far as they 
are not at variance with the special rules, 
shall apply to medal play. 



Etiquette of Golf 

THE FOLLOWING CUSTOMS BELONG TO THE ESTAB- 
LISHED ETIQUETTE OF GOLF, AND SHOULD 
BE OBSERVED BY ALL GOLFERS. 



1. No player, caddie or on-looker should 
move or talk during* a stroke. 

2. No player should play from the tee 
until the party in front have played their 
second strokes and are out of rang-e, nor 
play to the putting- g-reen till the party in 
front have holed out and moved away. 

3. The player v^ho leads from the tee 
should be allowed to play before his oppo- 
nent tees his ball. 

4. Players who have holed out should 
not try their puts over ag-ain when other 
players are following- them. 

5. Players looking- for a lost ball must 
allow any other match coming- up to pass 
them. 

6. A party playing- three or more balls 
must allow a two-ball match to pass them. 

7. A party playing- a shorter round 
must allow a two-ball match playing the 
whole round to pass them. 



309 



3IO Etiquette of Golf. 

8. A player should not put at the hole 
when the flag" is in it. 

9. The reckoning of the strokes is kept 
by the terms ''the odd," "two more," 
''three more," etc., and "one off three," 
"one of two," "the like." The reckoning* 
of the holes is kept by the terms — so many 
"holes up" — or "all even" — and — so 
many "to play." 

10. Turf cut or displaced b}^ a stroke 
in playing- should be at once replaced. 



Index for Rules of Golf 



THE ITALICS REFER TO RULES FOR MEDAL PLAY. 

RULE. 

Advice 37 

Advice , 10 

Ball, accidentally moved by opponent, etc 23 

covered by grass, bushes, etc 18 

deflected or stopped by agency outside the match 22 

displacing opponent's 36 

furthest from hole 9 

holing out 9 

how to be dropped 19 

in golf hole 7 

in or touching a hazard 14, 17 

in water 21 

knocked in by opponent's 36 

lifting 8 

lifting partner's 9 

lifting in three-ball match 32 

lodging in anything moving 22 

lost 28 

lost 5 

moved by player, partner, etc . 25 

must be played where it lies, etc 29 

on clothes, nets, etc 17 

on putting green 22, 31, 32, 33 

played by wrong side 27 

played outside limits of teeing ground 3 

resting against flag stick , 35 

rolling 36 

shielding from or exposing to wind 33 

split, cracked or becoming unplayable 38 

stuck fast 13 

striking opponent, etc 23 

311 



312 Index. 



RULE. 

Ball, striking partner, etc 7 

striking player, etc 6 

struck from tee cannot be changed, etc 10 

striking player, partner, etc 24 

striking twice 24 

striking twice 6 

touclied Iby player when not making stroke, or 

by partner, etc 25 

when considered to have been moved 26 

within six inches of another 20 

Breach of rules 12 

Clothes, ball on 17 

Cluh competitions 1 

Disputes 40 

Disputes 13 

Dung, how to be removed 34 

Earth lying around hole 34 

Fixed obstacles 12 

Flag stick 35 

Flag stick to he removed 9 

Forecaddie 10 

Game, of what it consists 2 

" how commences 5 

Golf hole, ball in 17 

Ground under repair, or temporarily covered up 17 

Growing obstacles 12 

Hazard, definition of 15 

Hole, flag stick in , — 35 

" sand, earth, worm casts, or snow lying around. . 34 

" size of 3 

Holes, new 3 

Holing out 9 

Honor 7 

Irregularities of surface may not be pressed down. . . . 16 

Loose impediments in playing through green 11 

" " on putting green 31 

Match, of what it consists 2. 

Markers 4 

Medal rounds new holes for 3 



Index. 313 



RULE. 

Medal play, breach of rules 12 

" " ordinary rules applicable H 

Mode of playing game 1 

Nets, ball on 71 

Obstacles fixed or growing 12 

Obstruction on course , 17 

Penalty stroke 39 

Playing out of turn 6 

Professional, competitors may not play with 10 

Putting green, definition of 30 

" loose impediments on 31 

" no mark or line to be placed on 33 

" play on 9 

playing on before competing 3 

three or more ball matcb on 32 

Recalling stroke 

Rub of tbe green 22 

Rub of the green 7 

Sand lying around hole 34 

Snow " " " 34 

Stroke, definition of 4 

Teeing ground 3 

Three or more ball match 32 

Ties 2 

Water, ball in 21 

Weather bad 11 

Wind, shielding ball from or exposing to „ . . , o . . . . 33 

Worm casts lying around hole = . , , 34 



PRESS OF 

STROMBERG, ALLEN & CO. 

CHICAGO. 



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